UNION COUNTY — Winter roads and GPS maps left some 20  vehicles stranded outside of Summerville on Wednesday, Nov. 20.

Union County Search and Rescue, along with assistance from Union County Public Works, came to the rescue after drivers found themselves stranded on Ruckle Road, said Union County Emergency Manager Nick Vora.

The drivers, who had originally been traveling westbound on Interstate 84 between La Grande and Pendleton, ended up on the steep gravel road by following GPS directions in an attempt to avoid traffic delays on the interstate due to a closure earlier in the day.

“If the routes with the most frequent maintenance are closed, that’s a sign that you should hunker down in a populated area with resources,” Vora said.

Dispatchers received an iPhone satellite SOS report shortly after 2 p.m. for a stranded vehicle, according to Vora. Not long after the first SOS report, dispatch started receiving similar reports from the same area.

Vora said that initially dispatchers and responders believed the reports were coming from one car with multiple occupants, but it soon became clear that there were multiple vehicles stranded in the snow.

Search and Rescue was immediately notified and mounted a response, according to Vora. Personnel first headed up with a tracked UTV, but upon learning just how many cars were stranded, they called in Union County Public Works for assistance.

The cars were stuck on Ruckle Road about 6 miles up from where it intersects with Craig Loop. The road is not maintained for winter travel and the area has little to no conventional cellphone service.

Public works responded with a road grader and helped plow an escape path for the cars, according to Vora. Five search and rescue personnel — two on the scene and three working remotely — provided assistance alongside public works.

“Without the assistance of the road grader, the vehicles would have had to be abandoned where they were, leading to a far larger problem due to the quantity of vehicles and number of people involved,” Vora said.

Over the next several hours personnel worked to get the cars unstuck and by around 5 p.m. they had all the vehicles turned around. Two hours later, everyone was clear from the scene.

“This incident serves as an important reminder of the need to carefully evaluate, and often not follow, GPS-provided directions, especially in winter months,” Vora said.

GPS devices and applications should be considered a travel aid and should be used as such, the emergency manager said. Vora recommends treating GPS directions the same way you would when getting directions from a stranger.

“If the advice is not making sense, then don’t follow it,” he said.

For anyone traveling during the winter, Vora suggests keeping a few basic necessities in the car, such as a shovel to dig yourself out and kitty litter or sand for traction. It’s also a good idea to have a way to charge your cellphone in the car.

Finally, Vora urges travelers to remember that while it may be warm inside the car, it is still winter outside. So, he recommends always having clothing with you in the car that is appropriate for the weather outside.