SHASTA COUNTY, Calif. - Redding Electric Utility says there are approximately 22,500 customers without power in Shasta County as of 7:00 a.m. Wednesday. PG&E says the largest concentration of customers without power is in Redding, Anderson and Big Bend. According to Redding Electric multiple lines are down due to the snow, and a power plant has a tripped off line. The outages started at around 11 p.m. Tuesday to 1:30 a.m Wednesday. Due to the amount of small and larger outages, PG&E says it could not give an estimated time that power could be restored to these ares. PG&E says there are crews on scene working to restore power. Redding Electric says that they are also working hard to remove fallen trees and make repairs. They do not yet know when power will be restored. This is a developing story. check back for details.<doc-sep>A winter storm that pummeled Redding and surrounding communities with up to 14 inches of snow early Wednesday shut down Interstate 5 south of the Oregon border and knocked out power to thousands of customers. The snow and rain began to fall Tuesday evening and continued into the early hours of Wednesday. Students got a snow day and jurors got a break at Shasta County Superior Court while flights were canceled at Redding Airport. Some 83,600 customers in the North State lost power as trees and their branches heavy with snow fell onto power lines. The majority of those who lost power were in Shasta County. Of those customers, 49,000 were in the North Valley, which included Butte and Glenn counties. Pacific Gas & Electric spokesman Paul Moreno said the communities most affected were Anderson, Cottonwood and Manton. "We do have crews on site at most of the outages," Moreno said. PG&E had not determined the cause of its outages, "but as you know, we did have low snowfall and heavy rains overnight," Moreno said. All of the city of Shasta Lake's 4,600 homes were without power at one point. Redding Electric Utility told residents to prepare for more trees to fall as the snow turned to rain and to watch for flooding. "Do not approach downed power lines," the utility said. As of 3 p.m., more than 13,000 REU customers were without power. REU crews were getting help from out of the area, with crews coming from Roseville and Las Plumas. REU spokesman Pat Keener said electricity was slowly being restored throughout the day Wednesday. The part of north Redding served by the Sulphur Creek substation was one of the first areas to get power back, Keener said. More:Here's how many inches of snow has fallen in Redding, Northern California Power was out to residences and businesses along Churn Creek Road and Dana Drive about midday. Other substations that were down included those in south Redding at Texas Springs, Moore Road and Airport Road, Keener said. "Our biggest concern is the safety of our community. There are a lot of trees fallen down," Keener said. "Going forward it's going to be nitty-gritty," Keener said, because once the substations were brought back online, crews needed to perform troubleshooting for individual addresses where trees may have taken down power lines. The California Highway Patrol reported dozens of spinouts, fallen trees blocking roads and vehicles in ditches throughout Shasta County. The state Department of Transportation predicted Interstate 5 would reopen at the Fawndale exit 10 miles north of Redding about 3 p.m. Wednesday. Please “have patience," Caltrans spokesperson Lupita Franco said. "It’s going to take a little while for traffic to go back to normal.” More: Here's what roads in Redding are having issues from the snow Chains were required on Highway 299 east and west of Redding and on Highway 44 about 10 miles west of Shingletown. During the day Wednesday, melted snow caused flooding as water cascaded down Eureka Way and pooled on Lake Boulevard in Redding. Help was offered to people most affected by the storm. The Redding Library opened its Community Room as a warming center. Also, good Samaritans were out and about on Redding's streets to help motorists whose vehicles got stuck in the snow or had spun out. Most schools in Shasta County announced closures, said Judy Flores, the county's superintendent of schools. Shasta College and Simpson University also closed its doors. Meanwhile, Shasta County Superior Court closed due to the storm. Court officials made the announcement Wednesday morning and asked residents who had jury duty to not report to the courthouse. Need supplies? Here's what businesses are open, closed in Redding after the winter storm Assistant presiding Judge Monique McKee said the court expects to reopen Thursday. Residents who've been summoned for jury duty can report then. The snow caused United to cancel flights at the Redding Airport to the San Francisco Airport. One of United flights from San Francisco still was scheduled to arrived in Redding at 9:50 p.m. Wednesday. This storm reminded many of a late December 2003 storm that dropped more than a foot of snow in many parts of Redding and crippled much of the region. More snow coverage:<doc-sep>
While snow isn’t expected to fall in the valley in the coming days, rising waters will be a concern as the National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for much of Shasta County and the northern Sacramento Valley. Highway 99 in Tehama County is closed at South Avenue about two miles north of Dairyville due to flooding this morning. Officials closed the road in both directions just before 6 a.m. Live updates: Redding winter storm, what we know now Flood watch and warnings are in the effect for the region through 3:30 a.m. Friday, the National Weather Service said. There is also a high wind advisory in effect through 6 a.m. Friday. The California Department of Transportation expects heavy rain to exacerbate the snowmelt, clogging drains and adding to the flooding on roads. Redding, Red Bluff, Shasta Lake, Anderson, the Whiskeytown National Recreation Area and Mountain Gate are among the areas that could be dealing with flooding, the National Weather Service said. PHOTOS:Redding's snow day Meanwhile, a winter storm warning is in effect through early Saturday morning in the mountains surrounding the Sacramento Valley. Three to 6 inches of snow is likely with higher amounts possible, the National Weather Service said. The Mt. Shasta Ski Park is closed today due to the rain that fell overnight, the resort said on its Facebook page. With 3 feet of snow “and rain on top of that, the snow conditions are unsafe to ride with no grooming,” the ski park posted. Mt. Shasta Ski Park has 11 feet of snow at its higher elevations and more than 6 feet of snow at is lodge, which sits at 5,500 feet.