Low Snow Triggers Spinouts, Snarls Motorists In Tuolumne County

JAMESTOWN (CBS13) - The low snow created a mess in Jamestown on Tuesday as a line of cars crept along trying to get home.

Some lived just 3 miles away in Sonora but the drive home would take hours.

If vehicles didn't have four-wheel drive, CHP officers were making them put on chains.

"Well, it's not very fun," one driver said. "It's frustrating on a lot of levels."

The trek through the Gold Country town on Highway 49 in Tuolumne County was slow going after heavy snow fell down in the tiny town at 1,400 feet elevation.

"Hopefully, we'll get home," one motorist said.

Earlier Tuesday it was a logjam just getting into town as motorists were victimized by icy roads and snowy conditions. Dozens of cars spun out of control and off the roadways, forcing the CHP to set up traffic controls.

CHP Lt. Scott Clamp says somewhere between 50 to 75 vehicles either became stranded or were in collisions on Highway 49 and other nearby roadways when it started snowing heavily around 2:30 p.m.

Clamp says there were a handful of minor injuries, but no major injuries involved. A school bus full of students was one of the vehicles stranded, but Clamp says the students were able to make it home by evening.

Drivers weren't allowed to get through Highway 49 in Jamestown unless they had four-wheel-drive or chains, no matter how close their house was.