The CHP says that no one was hurt during this rockslide that closed Highway 168 below Shaver Lake on Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. (Screengrab/Twitter/CHP Fresno)
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The Fresno office of the California Highway Patrol posted a dramatic video about 1 p.m. Monday of a rockslide that forced the closure of the Highway 168 “four lane.”
EXTREME CAUTION
STATE ROUTE 168 CLOSED at top and bottom of 4-lane.
“Thankfully, no one was hurt,” said CHP officer Mike Salas. “Our officers had been dispatched up there because of mud flowing across the road. The big snowpack around Shaver Lake is melting because of this warm storm, and there’s a big flood coming down the mountain.”
Salas said the highway is blocked about one mile east of where a rockslide had closed Highway 168 last week. The rockslide occurred between 12:30 p.m. and when the CHP posted the video to social media.
He added that it’s unknown at this time how long the highway will be closed.
The highway is closed at both the top and bottom of the four-lane. Officers are advising motorists to avoid travel to Shaver Lake and other Sierra locations “if at all possible.”
A perspective of the size of rocks which fell during yesterday’s Rockslide on State Route 168.
@caltransdist6 and engineers are working through the day to remove the rocks debris and to ensure a safe reopening.
The rockslide came in a region devastated by the 2020 Creek Fire that is being pummeled this winter by heavy precipitation from a series of atmospheric rivers entering California.
Bill McEwen is news director and columnist for GV Wire. He joined GV Wire in August 2017 after 37 years at The Fresno Bee. With The Bee, he served as Opinion Editor, City Hall reporter, Metro columnist, sports columnist and sports editor through the years. His work has been frequently honored by the California Newspapers Publishers Association, including authoring first-place editorials in 2015 and 2016. Bill and his wife, Karen, are proud parents of two adult sons, and they have two grandsons. You can contact Bill at 559-492-4031 or at Send an Email
