Live storm updates: Hwy. 168 partly open with lane controls after Fresno County rockslide

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1:30 p.m.: Highway 168 on the way to and from Shaver Lake has partially reopened to traffic as Caltrans crews work to clear Monday’s rockslide on the four-lane section of the highway.

The California Highway Patrol reports that one lane of the road is open with pilot vehicles leading traffic through in alternating directions.

1:30 p.m.: Choinumni Park, a 170-acre park and campground along the Kings River downstream from Pine Flat Dam, has been closed by Fresno County until further notice because of storm problems and the cleanup that will follow this week’s storms.

1:15 p.m.: Fresno city public works crews have closed Willow Avenue between Friant Road and Copper Avenue in northeast Fresno for emergency repairs to asphalt as a result of Monday’s and Tuesday’s storms.

Traffic heading north on Willow is being detoured west to Friant Road, while southbound vehicles are being directed to Copper Avenue. Willow Avenue was expected to be reopened by 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Rainfall totals climb

11:50 a.m.: Tuesday’s storm brought more rain to Fresno and the central San Joaquin Valley throughout the morning, but nowhere near as much as Monday’s soaker.

Between midnight and 11 a.m. Tuesday, about 0.13 inches of rain was recorded by the National Weather Service at Fresno Yosemite International Airport. That compares to almost 0.9 inches during the same 11-hour period on Monday morning. Monday’s total rainfall amounted to 1.53 inches.

11:20 a.m.: Caltrans work crews were using heavy equipment in their efforts to clear huge boulders from the four-lane section of Highway 168 southwest of the mountain community of Shaver Lake. The boulders were part of a rockslide that tumbled onto the highway Monday amid heavy rainfall in the Fresno County foothills and mountains, closing the route.

The California Highway Patrol posted on social media images of the ongoing work, reporting that crews “are working through the day to remove the rocks debris and to ensure a safe reopening.”

Roads into Yosemite National Park

11:00 a.m.: Yosemite National Park reports that Wawona Road, the continuation of Highway 41 from the south entrance of the park, was reopened to traffic after having been closed between the communities of Wawona and Yosemite West because of the ongoing storms battering California.

The Big Oak Flat Road (Highway 120) remains open. But Highway 140 outside the park remains closed between the communities of Midpines and El Portal.

Highway 99 reopens

9:40 a.m.: Caltrans District 6 reports “all lanes open and clear” on Highway 99 following the double-fatal incident earlier Tuesday morning.

9:25 a.m.: An evacuation warning for the Kings River watershed northeast of Sanger has been lifted.

The Fresno County Sheriff’s office issued the warning Monday night in the area of Highway 180 and Piedra Road.

“Water levels have gone down,” the sheriff’s office said in an update Tuesday morning, “allowing for a smoother flow from Mill and Hughes Creeks into the Kings River.”

Two dead in chain-reaction crash

8:20 a.m.: Two people died in the chain-reaction crash on northbound Highway 99 after lightning hit a tree, causing it to fall on traffic in Goshen, the CHP said.

Storm damage snarls Valley roadways

7:15 a.m.: Rainfall wreaked havoc on roadways and power lines Tuesday in Fresno County and the San Joaquin Valley as storms pounded the region.

Wind and wet weather knocked down several power lines and trees, including one along Highway 99 at the Betty Drive on-ramp in Tulare County’s Goshen, the California Highway Patrol said.

Lightning struck the tree, which caught fire just before 6 a.m., CHP said. The tree fell onto a big rig.

A motorcycle and other vehicles crashed in the area, CHP said, though the extent of injuries was not immediately available.

The northbound lanes of Highway 99 were closed just north of Betty Drive and traffic was being diverted off the highway at Betty. Expect delays in the area.

Trees, power poles or mud slides also blocked lanes near Butler and Temperance avenues, Tollhouse and Shaver Springs roads, Twain near Fruit avenues, and McCall and Ashlan avenues, to name a few.

A big rig jackknifed as it headed east on Highway 180 near the Highway 99 connection, the CHP said. Multiple lanes were blocked.

Fresno was forecast to get up to an inch of rain Tuesday.

A series of storms during an atmospheric river that started in late December have soaked the region before the so-called “bomb cyclone” entered the Valley this week.

Power outages in Fresno area

7 a.m.: PG&E as of 7 a.m. was reporting multiple large-scale power outages in the Fresno region.

The largest was in the Friant/Millerton Lake area, affecting 1,923 customers.

Another outage in the Squaw Valley area off Highway 180 was impacting 1,687 customers.

There were two outages in the Sanger area, one affecting 1,075 customers off of Jensen Avenue and the other north of Highway 180 off Academy Avenue affecting 735.

Kingsburg (902 customers) and Reedley (582) were also experiencing outages, though power was restored in Kingsburg by around 9:25 a.m.