WIND, ICE, SNOW SHUT I-5 HUNDREDS OF TRAVELERS STUCK ALMOST 11 HOURS.

Byline: CONNIE LLANOS  Staff Writer

CASTAIC -- When winds started shaking Denise Macintosh's motor home from side to side, the Seattle mother of three thought for a moment she must be dreaming.

Hurricane-force winds already had cost her four days without power in Seattle and a five-day snowstorm kept her and her children inside.

Then on her way back home from Las Vegas, high winds, ice and snow shut down Interstate5 through the Grapevine.

Early Thursday, as Macintosh sat sipping hot chocolate at the southern end of the freeway closure in Castaic, she was glad to be with her 7-year-old twin girls and 15-year-old stepson in the warm and well-stocked vehicle.

``We have everything we need in here,'' Macintosh said.

The Macintoshes were among the hundreds of travelers stuck off the I-5 in Castaic for almost 11 hours into Thursday morning until the freeway between Castaic and Fort Tejon in Kern County was deemed safe.

``If it's even moderately unsafe, we won't let traffic go through,'' California Highway Patrol Officer John Lutz said.

The freeway was closed a little after midnight after snow flurries fell in the biting cold and water runoff froze across lanes, Lutz said.

The closure, which usually occurs a few times a year during colder-weather months, caused traffic to be redirected onto state Route 126 and other highways, Lutz said.

By 11 a.m., the CHP began escorting traffic on the 5.

No serious collisions were reported.

Lutz also asked commuters intending to drive north for the weekend to be cautious. Drivers should make sure to check weather conditions and have appropriate supplies, such as tire chains to deal with snow and ice on the road, and to keep their speeds low.

``Late in the evening and in the early morning is when the temperatures drop. People need to be aware of road conditions and especially of runoff and water, which will freeze.''

Some commuters said they were annoyed Thursday with the protocol.

Grace Ay had left Los Angeles before 5a.m. to make it to her job in Bakersfield by 10a.m. A few hours later, an officer was prompting her to get off the road, offering no further explanation.

Deborah Cookson, assistant manager at the Coffee Stop on Lake Hughes Road, is used to the customer rush she gets every time weather closes the freeway.

``I get the same question about 200 times: How do I get here, you fill in the blank,'' Cookson said. ``That's my theme song, `I'm the map,' like in `Dora the Explorer.'''

The 4,000-mile-high stretch of freeway is a main connecting route for commuters traveling through Northern and Southern California, and those heading north into Washington and Oregon.

Steve Clark opted to purchase a map to try to get back home to Portland, Ore. -- normally, a 19-hour drive.

``We had rented a condo in Sacramento for the night; now I am not sure we will even make it,'' Clark said. ``I am miserable.''

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Photo:

(1 -- 2) Truckers sit along Castaic Road on Thursday, waiting for Interstate5 to open. The freeway was closed because of high winds, ice and snow through the Grapevine in Castaic. Below, the empty I-5 is visible. The California Highway Patrol said no serious crashes were reported.

David Crane/Staff Photographer