Tehachapi News

Tehachapi area gets first taste of winter

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The Tehachapi area received its first taste of winter last week, as snow flurries, rain showers and fog saturated the region.

More snow was a possibility for higher-altitude regions Sunday and Saturday, according to the National Weathe Service.

Tehachapi city limits and the majority of Stallion Springs and Bear Valley Springs were not expected to receive additional snowfall, according to the weather service.

Conditions for much of the region were expected to be fairly clear for the first half of the week -- a stark difference from last week, when snow and ice caused delays and closures for the Tehachapi Unified School District.

School start times were delayed two hours on Monday, Dec. 8 and the snowstorm turned severe right as schools were letting out, superintendent Richard Swanson said.

Approximately 300 high school, middle school and elementary school students were forced to lodge in the Cummings Valley Elementary cafeteria until as late as 8:45 p.m. as the entrance gate to Bear Valley Springs was closed.

Swanson said a line of cars stopped at the entrance to Bear Valley Springs extended out to Highway 202.

“You couldn’t get to the school,” he said.

Swanson said Cummings Valley was equipped with cots and blankets if students had to stay the night.

“We were prepared to stay there the whole time if necessary,” he said.

Schools were closed Tuesday. Snow on school roofs melted, adding moisture to the icy ground and making walkways dangerously slick, Swanson said.

As a result, schools were closed on Wednesday as well.

On Monday afternoon, California Highway Patrol officers serving the  Mojave region had 28 active incidents at one time, public information officer Ed Smith said.

“The conditions were as severe as I have ever seen them,” said Smith, who has been a CHP officer in the Mojave region for nine years.

Smith said East Kern residents who were in Bakersfield Monday called the CHP office and asked if they should attempt to drive Highway 58 home.

“We told people not to come home from Bakersfield,” he said. “It’s not worth it.”

Drivers still found themselves stuck for several hours on Highway 58 on both sides of Tehachapi, when segements of the highway were closed at around 4:30 p.m.

Some people stranded in Mojave took refuge for the night in a Red Cross shelter.

Smith said the severe snowy conditions for the region came earlier than usual.

“We’re more likely have a white Easter than a white Christmas,” Smith.

Sheriff’s office to monitor tresspassing

The Kern County Sheriff’s Office said numerous complaints regarding tresspassing, vandalism and illegal dumping had been voiced by private property owners in snowy regions during recent winters.

“The Tehachapi Mountain Park in Water Canyon is not set up for snow activities and several injuries have occurred to people sledding in that area,” according to a Sheriff’s release.

That area can ony accomodate 10 to 15 cars, according to the Sherrif’s office.

No parking is tolerated on the roadway the steep and winding road leading to the park is open, even in hazardous, icy conditions.

People are often turned away, and they venture to private property, according to the Sheriff’s office. Those who violated private property rights of legal owners will be issued citations, and vehicles blocking traffic are at risk of being towed.