Published by Raymond Ray
Article and photos by Robert Callis, Stringer Media
On Tuesday January 22nd at approximately 11:15 am, a report of a large tree trunk blocking southbound lanes of SR18 was reported. The exact location was just below upper Bonnie Canyon Bridge and above the 4000 foot level.
One CHP unit arrived on scene and set up a cone line to direct traffic around the tree. A second unit arrived a short time after to assisted in managing the flow of traffic as CalTrans removed the tree using chain saws and a skip loader.
Upon Caltrans arrival. They quickly began to cut up the large tree trunk using the skip loader to haul the tree a few yards below to a safe turnout location where a dump truck was awaiting. Original reports of three vehicles involved in an accident due to the tree hazard were not verified.
The traffic disruption on down bound Highway 18 lasted about an hour and a half. By 12:30 the roadway was clear.
Wow