15 Freeway through Cajon Pass closed, heavy snow blankets roadway Snow closed the 15 Freeway through the Cajon Pass early Thursday morning, Dec. 26, as a powerful winter storm churned through the area.
The 15 Freeway, a major commuter and commerce route, was closed northbound at Cleghorn Road and southbound at Ranchero Road in Hesperia.
Several other Inland-area roadways were shut down because of weather, and all vehicles in the mountains are required to have chains on their tires, Caltrans said.
Shortly after 9 a.m. Caltrans briefly re-opened the 15 Freeway southbound lanes under California Highway Patrol escorts, but about 30 minutes later had to close the lanes again, due to heavy snowfall. The agency urged motorists not to travel on the 15 Freeway thorugh the Cajon Pass or Mountain Pass to Las Vegas.
Caltrans said its snowplow crews were at work there, but had no estimate for when the freeway would reopen completely.
Hesperia resident Robert J. McClelland was on his way home just after 8 a.m., saying in a hands-free cell phone call that he had started out his job in Ontario at 4:15 a.m., but got no further on the 15 Freeway than Ranchero Road in Hesperia before waiting and waiting, then finally turning back.
“My boss had contacted me via text message, and said ‘If you can turn around and go home, turn around and go home. There’s is no way you are going to get to Ontario from Hesperia,’” he said.
McClelland said California Highway Patrol officers were guiding cars off both the on- and off-ramps at Ranchero Road to clear the freeway.
Heading back home, he said the desert floor was coated with snow. “This is my first time experiencing this. I like the weather, I like the snow, but Mother Nature, she takes her course,” McClelland said.
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