Highway 101 closed at Last Chance Grade

After briefly reopening one lane of traffic Sunday, CalTrans has completely closed U.S. 101 at Last Chance Grade due to continued rock and mud slides in the area.

The highway was first closed Saturday when a slide blocked the road. After working overnight to clean up the debris, CalTrans opened one lane Sunday afternoon. But a second slide forced the highway to be closed completely again.

The Del Norte County Sheriff's Office is urging drivers to avoid looking for ways around the closed portion of the highway. Since the highway was first closed, the sheriff's office has had to rescue several people who got stuck in snow while trying to drive forest roads around Last Chance Grade.

The sheriff's office said all the forest roads are covered in snow and are not safe to drive on.

There is currently no timetable for when Highway 101 might reopen.