KHTS AM-1220 Co-owner, Carl Goldman with an editorial.

We can all breathe a sigh of relief. The Newhall Pass Tragedy lets us realize just how vulnerable our valley is to becoming sealed off. We learned that during the ’94 earthquake, and we just lived through a miniature version of the same nightmare.

This is a good time for us to reflect on the great work done by our Government agencies in dealing with the crisis. CalTrans, The Los Angeles County Fire Department, CHP, City of Santa Clarita , County of Los Angeles , Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department and the American Red Cross, all went beyond the call of duty in weaving us through the disaster.

We all seem to get better handling each crisis, learning from each one. Now we need to ban together and focus on creating more road outlets for the Santa Clarita Valley. This incident proves how vulnerable we are to being sealed off.

Our first step should be to continue to apply pressure on our Government officials in Sacramento and Washington for more funds to allow the 1-5 truck and carpool lanes to extend throughout Santa Clarita.

You can help, by letting CalTrans know it needs to become one of their top priorities. And when you do, thank them, for the remarkable effort they just put in getting the I-5 reopened.