CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY : Fog Hampers Travel, Triggers Pileups

Dense fog shrouded the central San Joaquin Valley, closing airports, delaying and canceling school bus runs and, California Highway Patrol officers reported, causing several major chain-reaction pileups. One of the worst involved 12 to 14 cars, pickups and truck-trailer rigs on California 41 near Fresno. No deaths were reported, but there were several major injuries, officers said. There also were chain-reaction pileups in Tulare and near Selma, but no major injuries were reported. The CHP said another traffic hazard was created northeast of Fresno when about 150 cows wandered onto a road after escaping from a nearby pasture. It took officers several hours to round up the cattle in the fog. Airports around the valley were fogged in until nearly noon.