LOU WATERS, CNN ANCHOR: The National Guard has been pitching in to help rescue those motorists in Texas who were stranded in their vehicles overnight on that icy stretch of I-20. CNN's Tony Clark has the latest on the situation there.</s>TONY CLARK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): By sunrise Thursday, stalled cars and trucks stretched for 10 miles in either direction from Ranger, Texas, a small town that is on a steep incline, about midway between Ft. Worth and Abilene.</s>MICHAEL POLK, RANGER, TEXAS RESIDENT: It's a pretty steep grade of hill, and just the slightest little bit of ice is -- you know, it's not only a hill, it's a curve at the same time. You know, it's a dangerous spot. You know, and they don't realize there's -- once you start going down, there's no way to stop.</s>CLARK: A half-inch of sleet and an inch of snow Wednesday night stopped traffic dead in its tracks along Interstate 20 in Eastland County. About 30 Texas National Guardsmen had to be called out to help stranded motorists get out of their cars and into shelters.</s>DON ROGERS, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY: They went through in Humvees and have been there to help out those folks and also the local jurisdictions, particularly the fire department, send out fireman with extra gasoline to help people keep their engines running and therefore their car heaters running.</s>CLARK: About 500 people spent Wednesday night in shelters. Because of the large number of stranded motorists, dormitories at Roger College were opened and even a section of the local jail was set aside so stranded motorists would have a warm place to sleep. Conditions improved throughout the day Thursday. Warmer temperatures helped melt the snow, allowing traffic to begin moving on I-20 once again. Tony Clark, CNN, Dallas.
National Guard Called Out in Texas to Help Stranded Motorists