EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. — A winter storm has caused more than hazardous driving conditions for Nevada, Placer and El Dorado counties, and also left thousands of PG&E customers without power throughout the day.
Drivers up and down Highway 50 stopped at a gas station on Monday off the Carson Road exit near Camino, an area that looked like it was in the middle of an East Coast winter.
"Night and day," local El Dorado County resident Michael Barreno said of the conditions. "A few days ago, it was a little cold, there was no snow, a little bit of rain."
Drivers at the gas station fueled up and installed chains, crucial steps before taking to the dangerous roads.
"They can plow it all they want," Barreno said, "It's still just ice, so you get a lot of cars dancing up and down."
But for Barreno, the weather has caused even more than a traffic headache.
"We woke up in the middle of the night," Barreno explained. "The pilot stove went off, so we went outside and the motion light didn't turn on. So we knew it was another power outage."
PG&E said the outages are due in large part to snow falling at lower elevations than normal, which has caused trees to fall and break power poles, as well as down power lines.
The impacts have been felt by a wide area throughout Northern California.
"As of 5 p.m., we have approximately 22,000 customers out in Nevada, Placer, El Dorado and Sierra counties," Brandi Merlo, a PG&E spokesperson said. "Eleven-thousand customers out in Amador and Calaveras counties."
PG&E had more than 50 crews working Monday to restore power.
"We've got snow cats, we've got other specialized equipment so that we can gain access to the areas that's having the issue," Merlo said.
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