A blizzard sweeping through northeastern Colorado yesterday morning blocked roads and caused hundreds of flight cancellations, thwarting the Thanksgiving travel plans of some of the millions of Americans expected to fly or drive this week.
About 18cm of snow had fallen in Denver by yesterday morning, causing more than 460 flight cancellations, the Denver International Airport said on Twitter, and blizzard conditions were expected throughout the day as winds up to 72kph in the eastern plains reduced visibility.
“This storm may be historic in the Fort Collins and Loveland areas where 20 inches (51cm) or more of snow is expected. That would put the storm near the top five of all snow events there,” a National Weather Service forecast said, referring to areas along Colorado’s Front Range, some 80km north of Denver.
Some 55mn travellers planned to fly or drive at least 80km from their homes this Thanksgiving, according to the American Automobile Association, but the snow would likely alter those plans.
Video footage showed snowplows working through cloudy blizzard conditions to clear runways at Denver International Airport.
Many airlines would resume flights later in the day, the airport said on Twitter.
“We just landed at the Denver Airport! Crazy conditions. Literally 0 visibility,” tweeted Amber Kimbrell, a high school science teacher from Huntsville, Alabama, who posted a photo of a runway covered in white.
The blizzard was expected to drop an additional 25cm from the Colorado Front Range and would lighten later in the afternoon as the storm moved northeast, the weather service said.
Several interstate roads were closed, and the weather service warned travel could become impossible on rural roads and unplowed city streets.
Denver metro area schools and many stores were closed but some grocery stores, already stocked in preparation for Thanksgiving shoppers, were ready for a deluge of customers.
Lines were manageable at Safeway in Denver yesterday morning as more than a half foot of snow accumulated outside.
“So far so good; it doesn’t seem to be impacting us much,” Phil Vanderlaan, a cashier, said by phone. “Probably later throughout the day it might.”
A stronger storm was expected to hit northern California and Oregon, the weather service said, which may drop 40cm of snow across California mountain ranges.
California wildfire threatens homes
Fire ripped through brush and woodland on hills above Santa Barbara, California, yesterday, causing authorities to order more than 2,000 residents of a nearby canyon to flee their homes, according to officials and local media.
The Cave Fire started in the Los Padres National Forest at around 4.15pm on Monday in Santa Barbara County, about 145km northwest of Los Angeles.
County officials declared a local emergency.
The fire had consumed some 4,100 acres by yesterday morning, with none of it contained, Daniel Bertucelli of the county fire department told reporters.
Nine helicopters were dropping water to aid 600 firefighters, who were bracing for rainy conditions later in the day, he said.
Mandatory evacuation orders covered some 2,400 homes, the Los Angeles Times reported.
A single outbuilding was the only property damaged recorded by yesterday morning, Bertucelli said, though flames were pushing toward populated areas on the northern flanks of the coastal cities of Santa Barbara and Goleta.
Firefighters from neighbouring areas were rushing to Santa Barbara to help the local service control the blaze, authorities said.
Nearly 200,000 acres have been consumed in wildfires across the state this year, according to the California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection.
Wind blows embers as the Cave fire burns a hillside in Santa Barbara yesterday.
