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Storm forces shutdown of I-5 Freeway turns into ice rink in N. California; trouble should end today By Chris Bristol A winter snowstorm spared semi-sunny Southern Oregon its full fury Thursday. Across the California border, it was a different story. The storm dumped up to a foot of snow in the Shasta County area and, accompanied by high winds, caused so many wrecks and spinouts that authorities were forced to shut down Interstate 5 from Redding to Yreka for hours on Thursday. No serious injuries were reported on the freeway, but a fatal crash was reported on State Route 44 near Mount Lassen. Details were not available. "It�s been very hectic," said Debbie Ginn, spokeswoman for the California Department of Transportation in Redding. "We�ve had a lot of people running off the road." Locally, snow has blanketed the freeway at its upper elevations every night since Tuesday. Up to eight inches was predicted Thursday night at Siskiyou Pass, near the California border, and at Mount Sexton north of Grants Pass. But it should be all over later today. Larry Jacobs, a spokesman for the National Weather Service in Medford, predicted the storm would blow itself out by noon. "Saturday and Sunday look quite fair," Jacobs said. "Just partly cloudy skies." John Vial, a spokesman for the Oregon Department of Transportation, said it snowed off and on Thursday in the mountain passes but never caused the kind of problems reported in California. Even so, it bears repeating that motorists who drive in the mountains are required by state law to carry chains during the winter. Vial said drivers who don�t have chains may be turned back if it snows too hard in the passes. "We�ve had to do that the last couple nights, but only for an hour or so," he said. "We inspect for chains when it gets bad, though, so you�ve got to be prepared." Susan Schmitz, a dispatcher for the California Highway Patrol in Redding, said motorists there simply weren�t prepared for the weather. It was still snowing at dusk Thursday, but snowplows were keeping the roads clear. "The road is actually not looking too bad," she said, "but so many people just don�t want to chain-up or don�t expect to chain-up, and a couple spinouts can really throw a wrench in it. "People are unprepared, and when they�re not prepared they just drive bad." Reach reporter Chris Bristol at 776-4487, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.