Civil Emergency Declared Overnight In Summit County As Snowstorm Pounds Colorado Mountains
FRISCO, Colo. (CBS4) - Relentless snow and wind pounded Summit County and the Interstate 70 mountain corridor late Thursday, prompting officials to issue a civil emergency for the area. That is an alert sent via the National Weather Service to alert travelers of widespread extended road closures and that a warming center was available at the recreation center In Silverthorne.
Parking lots were full at most businesses along I-70 with stranded travelers that couldn't find overnight lodging. Some truck drivers were sitting on roads adjacent to the highway in hopes of being first in line when the interstate reopens.
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The American Red Cross opened a shelter in the early morning hours Friday to accommodate I-70 travelers stranded in Silverthorne. The shelter is located at the Silverthorne Recreation Center on Rainbow Drive.
There is no estimate as to when travel will resume because of the long duration of the storm and the need for CDOT to perform avalanche mitigation on both sides of the Eisenhower-Johnson tunnels.
Several snow slides were reported just after midnight on the west side of the tunnels.
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