Winter's starting in California's central valley

Inkara1

Inkara1

Well-Known Member
Massive pileup closes Calif. highway
11/03/07 13:47:13

Dense fog along a busy highway was blamed for a massive pileup of as many as 100 cars, killing two people and injuring dozens, the California Highway Patrol said.

At least nine big rigs were involved in the pileup on northbound Highway 99 just south of Fresno, CHP officials said. No hazardous materials were spilled.

"It looked like something out of a movie, walking up and seeing all the cars mangled and crushed," said CHP Officer Paul Solorzano, Jr.

A 6-year-old boy and a 28-year-old man traveling in separate vehicles were killed in the chain-reaction collisions around 7:45 a.m., he said.

"There was probably two-foot visibility in the fog when I got here. It was really bad," said Mike Bowman, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. "It looked like chaos. Cars were backed up on top of each other."

Rescuers had to extract several people trapped in the wreckage, and paramedics transported more than three dozen patients to the hospital with injuries, Fresno City Fire Department spokesman Ken Shockley said.

"Everybody was trying to miss everybody, but it was impossible not to get hit," said Cindy Ramirez, 21, of Selma, whose purple Mazda pickup truck was rear-ended. "I'm fine physically, but I keep thinking about all of the things that could have happened."

Hours after the accident, the freeway was littered with smashed cars and trucks, broken gas, auto parts and blood. A big rig carrying stacked crates of live turkeys was stranded on the normally busy highway.

Crash victims sat near the wreckage, waiting to be interviewed by investigators.

The freeway's northbound lanes were shut down indefinitely as investigators worked to determine the cause of the crash. Traffic backed up for miles south of the wreckage. Southbound lanes remained opened.

Thick seasonal fog known as "Tule fog" typically occurs in Central California in the late fall and winter. A stretch of the highway several miles south was the scene of an autumn 74-car pileup nearly a decade ago that left two people dead.
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There's nothing quite as much fun as driving in fog so thick you can't see to the end of your hood. That's one thing I don't miss about Fresno.
 
That's central Cali.

In L.A., late April until mid July is the winter fog season.
 
There are places in the Appalachians (Harlan KY is one of them I think) where the sun shines only from like 1PM until 3 or 4 PM. The rest of the day the mountains block out all direct sunlight. Plays hell on farming. Which played hell with income. Yet the "redneck" jokes keep flowing like water...but then some are easily amused.
 
the sun shines only from like 1PM until 3 or 4 PM. The rest of the day the mountains block out all direct sunlight
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Sound like Oak Creek Canyon, above Sedona.
 
Tule Fog - ain't nuthin' like it.

Doing 35mph in medium fog and suddenly you can't past hood orniment. As you slow down to 5mph you wonder if Diesel Truck is going to sneak up behind you, launching you like a kicked ball of foil.

You can't/don't stop on the side of the road, first/next car that see's your tails lights assumes your moving on the road and aims straight for your stopped tail-lights.

Oh the Tule Fog, scary stuff to drive in, great for walking in (and taking the kids to the 200 year old Lone Oak cemetery)
 
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