Mount Baldy Road reopens following Thanksgiving snow storm, major delays expected

MOUNT BALDY, Calif. (KABC) -- Folks hoping to enjoy the piles of fresh snow surrounding Mount Baldy are in luck.

Mount Baldy Road, the main traffic artery leading to the mountain community, is back open after power lines were knocked down during a Thanksgiving storm, but officials are warning about the road conditions.

Fire officials said although the roads are now clear for drivers, they should expect major traffic delays for the rest of the weekend. Parking in the area will also be limited due to all the snow.

Southern California Edison was working to restore power to the Mount Baldy Resort which lost power around 9 p.m. Friday. Three different outages in the area left some 1,600 customers in the dark and 175 remained without power as of Saturday evening. It was not expected to be back on until Sunday at 4 a.m.

Tricky driving conditions didn't hold many people back.

Rock Hickcock made the trek from Costa Mesa and came ready to ski.

"Just driving up here is beautiful. I was one of the first up and the sunrise was amazing. You have to get up here early...the roads going to be nuts," Hickok said.

The fire department warned drivers that snow will impact parking, but that didn't seem to bother those looking to play in the snow.

"I get to build a snowman!" said 7-year-old Adriana.

Jerry Rawle, who does resort maintenance at Mount Baldy, said there was one big upside. "What snow we got is going to be here for a while, so the holidays are just looking perfect."

Several roads leading to Big Bear were starting to reopen as the mountain community continued to dig out from the power storm that dumped up to 48 inches of snow in two days.