Foothills residents prepare for arrival of more snow
AUBURN - As Caltrans and the CHP prepare for a busy weekend, some are excited about the prospect of very low snow.
Auburn is already seeing some snow flurries. While many people are excited to see the snow, others are a bit more worried.
Jerad Lambert and his family drove up from Rocklin to go sledding in Nyack today, but starting tomorrow, he may not have to travel far for his children to see snow.
"It's pretty exciting," he says, "I heard it's supposed to get down to about a thousand feet," Lambert said.
Nyack at about 5,000 feet, they're used to snow. You can see by the snowbank the amount they've already received this year. But down the road in Auburn at about 1,000 feet, a rare occurrence of snow is likely.
Louis Bezark works in Auburn and for the next few days, she's filling in for a co-worker who lives in Colfax and fears the snow won't allow them to make it into work.
"It's very exciting to see something different," she says, "but I feel for the people who will be shut in and not be able to get out."
The CHP Gold Run's division says it will be operating at full staff through the storm, assisting Caltrans on chain control, which may be enforced as low as Colfax or even lower, with traffic expected.
"Usually when it gets really bad," Officer Jason Lyman says, "they close the freeway for all of the trucks, and so they'll be lined up on the freeway for miles."
For Lambert, the possibility of snow below Auburn is something to marvel at. "I've never heard of it coming down that far before."
Officer Lyman also reminds the public to slow down and stop at the checkpoint, as they've had issues with people not stopping at chain control checkpoints, including those with four-wheel or all-wheel drive.