California IN BRIEF : YREKA : Ice Storm on I-5 Leads to 2 Injuries

Two people suffered serious injuries and dozens of vehicles skidded out of control early Saturday when a brief ice storm blanketed a 60-mile stretch of Interstate 5 between Weed and the Oregon line, the California Highway Patrol reported. CHP dispatcher Marion McNinn and witnesses said the intense, hourlong storm began about 5 a.m. and dumped rain that froze as soon as it hit the pavement. The storm temporarily closed the busy interstate, California’s principal north-south artery. “It came and went real quick, and then it froze over,” McNinn said. Weed is near Mt. Shasta, about 320 miles northeast of San Francisco. Numerous vehicles careened out of control and lined the shoulders of the highway for miles in both directions. At least two accidents were reported, including a five-car collision near the tiny town of Grenada, south of Yreka.