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Troopers give food, fuel to drivers stranded in I-84 backup

More than 20 miles of I-84 westbound closed Tuesday night between Hood River and Cascade Locks, leaving drivers stranded overnight.

HOOD RIVER, Ore — Oregon State Police Troopers delivered food and fuel to drivers stuck in a 20+ mile backup on Interstate 84.

The westbound lanes closed Tuesday night, and didn't reopen until Wednesday night.

More than 20 miles of traffic was affected, with thousands of drivers spending the night in their cars in freezing weather conditions.

RELATED: Highways 95 and 21 closed in the Idaho mountains due to unsafe driving conditions

Many went upwards of 14 hours without food or a place to go to the bathroom -- and some even worried they would eventually run out of gas.

OSP troopers delivered food and extra fuel to those drivers around 10 a.m. Wednesday, as the Oregon Department of Transportation worked to clear the area.

ODOT officials now admit it has been "an awful situation and we apologize to everyone caught in this." They say they pre-treated the area with deicer, sand and salt, but "the Gorge's unique microclimate and multiple microburst snow and ice storms lessened the impact." 

LATEST IDAHO WEATHER: Rain and snow will mix in the valley and we expect several inches of snow in the mountains

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