Posted on 04/18/2009 8:26:57 AM PDT by Zakeet
Hundreds of people were stranded at shelters Friday night after transportation officials shut down an 80-mile stretch of Interstate 70 between Vail and Golden because of wet, heavy snow and multiple accidents.
The American Red Cross opened a second shelter in Idaho Springs after its first shelter there filled to capacity with more than 300 people, said Jim Rettew, a spokesman for the organization's Mile High Chapter.
The stranded travelers didn't all get cots, but many got snacks, and most were in good spirits, he said.
"Some are trying to sleep, some are talking, some are eating, some are on the phone," Rettew said. "When this kind of thing happens, everyone just makes the best in trying circumstances."
The Colorado National Guard escorted a caravan of volunteers and supplies to the shelters after Clear Creek County declared an emergency and asked for state assistance. County officials were working to set up one or two more shelters in Georgetown.
It was unclear when the interstate might reopen. The spring storm had dumped more than 30 inches of snow on the foothills west of Denver by Friday night but was starting to weaken, forecasters said.
[Snip]
Up to 3 feet of snow was expected by Saturday night in the mountains above 6,000 feet, forecasters said. Nearly 3 feet had already fallen by Friday afternoon in Rocky Mountain National Park about 60 miles northwest of Denver, forcing officials to close its Beaver Meadows and Fall River entrances because snowplows couldn't keep up.
Many suburban Denver schools sent students home early Friday, and at least three Colorado Springs-area high schools delayed weekend proms.
The University of Northern Colorado moved its football scrimmage to Tuesday because of snow, while Colorado State University canceled its Saturday spring game.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
This is more evidence that we need a carbon tax to offset global warming.
So much for global warming...
Damn that globull warming ...
Kind of puts Bush’s behavior over Katrina in more perspective doesn’t it...
Nahhh....we need to throw AlGore into a volcano.
I love that picture. The guy is leading someone who is blind, and he is taking the cleared path.
It was a mess. I got some laughs at a conference there yesterday when I mentioned “global warming” — with a fill blizzard going on outside the windows. When my plane pushed back from the gate at Denver International it had just started snowing heavily there, but it wound up being hours before we were able to take off.
He works for CNN...
The freaky thing is that while it is snowing on the south side of Denver, it is raining hard on the north side. We have two feet of slushy snow, yet, it is now starting to rain.
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