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Snow chains on the 101? Erroneous travel alert baffles Thousand Oaks


The storms that pummeled Southern California this week brought dramatic wind gusts, bursts of rain and lightning that set trees on fire, not to mention heavy snow.

But there’s no snow on the 101 Freeway near Thousand Oaks — which might come as a surprise to those who spied an errant travel alert from the California Department of Transportation.

An agency advisory for the L.A.-Ventura county line went out Wednesday saying snow chains were required on all vehicles except passenger vehicles and light-duty trucks equipped with snow tires on at least two drive wheels. Those with snow tires, the advisory warned, must still carry chains.

Social media responded to the warning with puzzlement: “I get it. It was like 49 degrees and sunny this morning. It’s tough in these streets.”

The Times on Wednesday afternoon reached out to Caltrans, which said an error had occurred: “These chain control messages for US-101 were inadvertently added to QuickMap and have been removed since the time of your inquiry.”

Meanwhile, roadways in Southern California’s mountains are expected to be inundated with snow. Forecasters with the National Weather Service are warning that Thursday should bring dangerous driving conditions in the mountains, with the potential for roadway closures in the Tejon Pass on the 5 Freeway.

“Blowing and driving snow with near zero visibilities possible,” the weather service said.

Just not in Thousand Oaks.





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