Highway 154 reopens after multiple crashes cause closure

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. - Highway 154 in Santa Barbara County reopened Wednesday afternoon after a multi-hour closure.

It was closed in the late morning due to multiple crashes near the Cold Spring Bridge.

Santa Barbara County Fire along with California Highway Patrol and Los Padres National Forest responded around 10:35 a.m.

There, they found multiple crashes associated with about two inches of hail or snow that had collected on the highway.

A total of eight vehicles were involved in the crashes. Two people suffered minor injuries and only one was being considered for hospital transportation.

According to the California Highway Patrol online incident log, the crashes occurred around the same time that the area was being pummeled with rain.

The several crashes prompted CHP to call for a hard closure on Highway 154.

The closure was in place from Highway 246 in the Santa Ynez Valley to Highway 192 in Santa Barbara. By around 1:20 p.m., the roadway was reopened by Caltrans.

CHP is continuing to investigate the crashes.

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