A three-mile stretch of Highway 99 was closed for more than five hours Saturday after dense fog led to a massive vehicle pileup in Tulare County, about 40 miles north of Bakersfield. The California Highway Patrol said 59 vehicles were involved in the crash that occurred around 8 a.m. The highway reopened midafternoon. Several people sustained mild to moderate injuries and some were taken to a local hospital, according to CHP Visalia.
After recent rains drenched the Central Valley, dense fog is now rolling in through the holiday weekend. Murky conditions blanketed the region Friday morning, earning a dense-fog advisory through 10 a.m. due to visibility of less than a quarter of a mile. The most affected areas included Bakersfield, Delano and the southern portion of Interstate 5, Stephen McCoy, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, told SFGATE.