Julian CA— On the morning of January 1st, 2015, a heavy steady flow of vehicles converged on Julian and Sunrise Highway areas.
Visitors attracted to the recent snowfall in the mountains created vehicle congestion with inbound traffic backed up several miles in all directions at a near standstill.
At times, traffic into Julian was backed up to Ramona on Highway 78, that’s a distance of 22 miles. Traffic to the Sunrise Highway was backed up on Interstate 8 to the Viejas Casino area.
The Sheriff’s Department is recommending pre-planning for people heading into this area. Have a full tank of gas, water, and food supplies in case you are stranded in traffic for hours. Public restrooms are limited.
Consider that some areas people are using for recreational snow activities are private property. Please stay off private land if you do not have permission to be there.
There were no traffic related injuries, but CHP noted about 20 vehicle collisions in snowy areas.