Injured driver rescued from Feather River
CRESTA >> One person was rescued Wednesday morning after the driver’s vehicle went off of Highway 70 and into the Feather River near the Cresta Powerhouse.
Firefighters with Cal Fire-Butte County and a swift water rescue team responded to the crash after 7:30 a.m. According to the Butte County Sheriff’s Office, the driver was able to get herself out from the vehicle and was subsequently transported to a local hospital with minor injuries, while the swift water rescue team worked to recover the vehicle from the water.
The cause of the crash was not immediately released, however, snowfall appeared to be sticking to the pavement on Wednesday morning causing treacherous driving conditions in the area. Both the Sheriff’s Office and Cal Fire-Butte County advised drivers to slow down while passing through the area.
“We would like to remind our community members to use extra caution when driving in inclement weather,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post. “Our (search and rescue) members even had difficulty making it up there! Be careful and slow down!”
The crash was one of several incidents reported on Highway 70 on Wednesday as snow continued falling at lower elevations in the foothills of eastern Butte County.
Highway 70 was briefly closed from Cherokee Road to Pulga due to inclement weather, according to the California Highway Patrol and Caltrans, and chain controls were put into effect for Highway 70 eastbound at Pulga into Plumas County. Chains or traction devices were required on all vehicles except four-wheel or allwheel drive vehicles with snow-tread tires on all four wheels.
Caltrans reported multiple instances of spinouts, and according to the CHP’s traffic incident page, a number of semitrailers were either getting stuck or jack-knifed along that corridor of Highway 70.
The National Weather Service projected 1 to 4 inches of snow accumulation Wednesday in the northeast Sierra Nevada foothills, with snow levels varying in areas between 2,000 to 3,500 feet.