Cold temperatures cause driving hazards, school delays in Mariposa County

MARIPOSA COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Extremely cold temperatures created dangerously icy roads and delayed school for hours in Mariposa on Thursday morning.

While the snow created a beautiful sight, it also created slippery conditions.

Michael Ruark was driving into town to work at the Mariposa Marketplace.

On his way in, he saw several accidents on the roads.

"There's a lot of black ice out there this morning because the temperatures were so cold," said Ruark.

The California Highway Patrol said its officers responded to several ice-related crashes.

Officials are urging people to be alert and keep their distance while driving.

"If you do hit some ice like there was this morning, you want to not slam on your breaks. Don't do anything abrupt," said CHP Officer Steven Mullen.

If you're planning to head to the snow-covered mountains this weekend, Mullen says it's important to be prepared.

"A basic emergency kit with some flashlight batteries, some water, stuff if that if you get stranded for a night or two, you want to have some basic supplies with you," said Mullen.

The cold weather also caused a two-hour delay for students heading to the classroom Thursday morning.

The kids finally headed to school around 10 a.m.

One parent says she didn't mind the delay as long as the students were safe.

"I know that there are a lot of people that live at 3000 or 4000 feet elevation. There's a lot of snow up there," said Jennifer Beavers.

The Mariposa County Unified School District is working with local and state partners to monitor weather and road conditions.

Speaking of those road conditions, Caltrans says it ran snow plows from the Chowchilla River Bridge to the Mariposa-Madera County line earlier in the morning.

Snow plows are also working near El Portal and the Yosemite National Park entrance on Highway 140.