Santa Cruz County officials are asking residents Friday to cancel all travel plans except in cases of emergency because of a winter storm that is impacting many major roads around the county.
Snow, ice and high winds have combined with fallen trees and downed power lines to create hazardous conditions around Santa Cruz County and have closed major thoroughfares like state Highway 17, which closed in both directions overnight.
The county's Emergency Operations Center has been activated to monitor the storm activity and to coordinate the response by public agencies.
The county advised people to use libraries or other public facilities to warm up, charge electronic devices and use the internet if their homes are being affected by power outages. A list of branch libraries can be found here.
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