Sunshine!!

Oh my, oh my.  What a difference a little sunshine makes.  There's barely a cloud in the sky this beautiful Friday morning.  Of course colder temperatures accompany our clear skies...which means icy roads and treacherous driving conditions.  Deadwood Mountain (Highway 41 into Oakhurst) is slow going again this morning with two big rigs sideways on the road after hitting black ice.  If your headed to the mountains use extreme caution and be prepared for delays.  Power crews from all over CA and neighboring states are still struggling to restore power to area residents.

Shelter in Oakhurst

DATE: Wednesday March 23, 2011
TO: NEWS MEDIA
RE: SHERIFF IN PROCESS OF ACTIVATING SHELTER IN OAKHURST
11:15 AM – SITUATION REPORT:
Madera County Sheriff John P. Anderson, Director for Office of Emergency Services for Madera area is coordinating with American Red Cross to prepare the Oakhurst Senior Center as a shelter operation site.
The location: 49111 Cinder Lane, Oakhurst … located off Road 425B
Community Food Bank is delivering close to 40,000 pounds of water to the Oakhurst Community to assist families that have been without water due to the power outages from the most recent storms that have passed through the Central Valley.
The delivery is being arranged with Community Food Bank’s partner agency “Oakhurst Seventh Day Adventist Church.” This delivery will be made at the VONS shopping center in Oakhurst today.
All information about Warming Centers and Sandbagging can still be found by clicking on Public Notices on the Madera County website
www.madera-county.com
Roads currently closed:
Road 10 between Avenue 24 and Avenue 25
Roads currently open:
Avenue 23 ½ between Roads 15 ¾ and 15
Avenue 13 between Roads 29 ½ and 30
Highway 41 Deadwood leading into and out of Oakhurst

Yosemite is Open!!

Yosemite National Park reopened this morning at 7am despite another snow storm last night. PG&E crews along with power crews from all over the state are working hard today to restore power to more area residents. Roads are clear and the snow is melting quickly. Weather forecasters say to expect rain showers until Saturday and hopefully (fingers crossed) some sunshine on Sunday.
Although it's difficult to discern with the amount of damage caused Sunday night it doesn't appear that last nights storm took any more trees or power lines. Highway 41 (Deadwood Mountain) is clear this morning with no new mud or rock slides.

Update on Oakhurst conditions

Travelers to Oakhurst and Bass Lake need to be aware that power has still not been restored to numerous areas. Deadwood Mountain (Highway 41) today is restricted to one lane as Caltrans struggles to clean up multiple mudslides. Several large boulders (car size and larger) have been blasted in order to clear the road. Rainy conditions today are making the job of cleaning up difficult as more mud and debris falls onto the south bound lane. Expect delays of 20+ minutes to get over the mountain. Bass Lake is still without power and Yosemite National Park remains closed. Thousands of residents are still without power or heat. Additionally, Hillview Water Company, the main supplier for area residents, has declared a water emergency as several of their main wells are without power. Storage tanks are at a critical level, meaning that if power is not restored to the wells soon thousands of residents and businesses will be out of water.
Thousands of trees and hundreds of power lines are down throughout the entire mountain community. The sound of chainsaws and helicopters flying over to assess damage has replaced our normal peace and tranquility.