DENVER—Snowplow crews worked overnight to clear roads for drivers Monday after whiteout conditions and numerous accidents prompted officials to close Interstate 70 from Vail to Georgetown.
Colorado Department of Transportation officials closed several other highways around the state Sunday, with some closures lasting overnight as snow and gusts up to 65 mph reduced visibility to near zero.
The American Red Cross said about 860 people stayed at shelters that it opened Sunday in the mountains for stranded travelers, while others stayed at Copper Mountain Resort and a church in Dillon.
Westbound I-70, the main route between Denver and many of the state’s major ski resorts, was closed from Vail all the way to Floyd Hill, about 10 miles west of Denver’s outskirts.
P.J. Bailey, 24, left Breckenridge to head home to Denver around 1 p.m. Sunday, but nearly four hours later, she was no farther than Georgetown.
“I was told it would get better, but a mile east of Georgetown, there were whiteout conditions. You couldn’t even see the front of your car,” she said. She pulled onto a shoulder for about 15 minutes but finally decided to head back to Georgetown for the night after watching ambulances drive past.
She was searching for a hotel room Sunday evening. The Super 8 Motel was already sold out.
“You should see this town. There’s people stopped everywhere,” she said.
Hunter Miller left his home in Grand Junction around 10:15 a.m. with tickets for a Denver Nuggets game Sunday night, but got caught in stop-and-go ski traffic and snow around Vail Pass. It took about five hours to go the 52 miles between Vail and Georgetown, he said.
He and his wife decided to spend the night in Georgetown.
“The weather was so bad, and I’d been in the car so long,” said Miller, 25. “I didn’t want to drive any more. I didn’t want to risk it.”
Closures Sunday included U.S. 6 over Loveland Pass over the Eisenhower Tunnel.
U.S. 40 over Rabbit Ears Pass and Berthoud Pass was closed due to poor weather and accidents but reopened late Sunday. Nearby Steamboat Ski Resort reported 17 inches of fresh snow Sunday.
Highways leading to Wyoming were closed for several hours due to adverse weather in Wyoming before reopening.
