Tucsonans head to Mount Lemmon after Catalina Highway reopens

TUCSON, Ariz. - Some Tucsonans took advantage of the reopening of Catalina Highway Thursday and headed up to see the fresh snow.

The roadway had been closed for the past two days, leaving many without the opportunity to visit on Christmas Day.

Thursday morning, just before 10 a.m., the road up to the popular destination opened to visitors who had four wheel drive or chains.

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A few hours later, it opened to all visitors without any restrictions.

Ashley Clark and her family were among the many who decided to drive up as soon as they heard the road was open.

"It never snows in Tucson, so this is great for the kids. I mean people from the east coast like myself are not that excited for the snow, but the kids love it," she said.

Clark told KGUN9 she and her family had hoped the Catalina Highway would open on Christmas Day, but added she gave up that hope after calling the Pima County Road Hotline over and over with no luck.

Others on the mountain, like Raul Figueroa decided he wouldn't wait for the road to close, instead he'd rent a cabin on Mount Lemmon and enjoy the snow as soon as it arrived.

"We came up before the storm hit so we could just be settled and enjoy it," said Figueroa.

Figueroa said Tuesday night was when that storm arrived, but he wasn't worried.

"Tuesday night was like a blizzard it was just couldn't see outside, the wind was really strong, it was cool, it was fun for us, we enjoyed it," he said.

He added he does know another storm is expected to roll through the area Thursday night, but added he isn't too worried about it.

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