Heavy wet snow fell in Oakhurst caused schools to close and roads to become hazardous

OAKHURST, Calif. (KFSN) -- Snow came down in the Central Valley at elevations as low as 1,800 feet, causing hazardous driving conditions Monday and shutting down several schools for the day.

The only activity at Yosemite High School was a maintenance worker clearing the parking lot. Classes were called off at the elementary school because of hazardous driving conditions.

California Highway Patrol Officer Kaci Lutz says it has been a wild day.

"Everything from people sliding off the roadway to downed trees taking down power lines obstructing the roadway," she said. "It's kind of one thing after another."

Chain controls have been off and on all day as the snow falls and melts away.

PG&E crews have been scrambling to deal with scattered outages in and around Oakhurst. More than 1,000 homes were without power early in the day and several hundred remain without electricity.

Despite the problems, snow this low does not happen too often and folks we talked to were glad to see it. Debbie Gerber of Oakhurst said, "I love it, can't get enough of it, that's what we moved up here for."

"It's pretty cool, we had four or five-inch snowflakes - never seen it like that before," said Jerry Selsor, Oakhurst.

But as the temperature drops more hazards await.

"It's been awhile since we've had a storm of this nature, especially down to the 2,400, 2,500-foot level. So, you have to be mindful, to be cautious to allow extra time as you travel, go slow, and as the temperature changes and it freezes, that black ice is something we are going to be looking for an anticipating," said Lutz.