Hundreds of cars piled up on the road over the weekend, eventually driving CHP to post “STOP TRYING TO USE THE BACKROADS TO GET TO NEVADA!” on social media. Some people just have the mentality, ‘I can get around this.’” “There were trees fallen across the road, power lines down. “Those plows even had to get pulled out,' he said. The two plows designated for the area got stuck and there were already hundreds of cars up there, Danielson said. “It shows on the map it will go through, but there’s always a gate closed in the winter,” said California Highway Patrol Officer Brian Danielson, who works out of the Yuba-Sutter office. When Interstate 80 closed, Google Maps offered up Quincy-La Porte Road as an alternate route. Northern California Highway Patrol reported a serious problem on Quincy-La Porte Road, which locals know closes each winter and becomes a haven for snowmobilers. Many were led astray by Google Maps, which offered alternate driving routes that sent drivers to snowy dead ends.
Google doesn't always know best.ĭespite warnings to avoid travel after a massive snowstorm that started Christmas weekend closed major highways, thousands of people insisted on trying to drive into or out of the socked-in Sierra Nevada.