1st Snow Has Area Bracing for Crowds : Pine Mountain: Between 4 and 6 inches of powder blanket the region, with more expected. The annual influx of visitors has just begun.

Pine Mountain residents are gearing up for hundreds of visitors from across Ventura County now that the picturesque region has had its first snowfall of the season.

“People come from all over because they’ve never seen snow before,” said Shirley Bookout, whose home is about 20 miles north of Ojai, in Los Padres National Forest. “They take their kids out of school and drive up here like it’s gold.”

Between 4 and 6 inches of snow fell across the region Tuesday night, and more was expected Wednesday night, according to forecasters.

Many of the visitors winding their way toward the 7,500-foot Pine Mountain range Wednesday enjoyed the chance to snap photographs or go flying down snowy hills on plastic sleds.

Buddy Smith brought his new camping gear and intended to spend the night, but was daunted by the weather, which was expected to drop below 30 degrees.

“The snow makes it real nice up here, but I don’t know about spending the night,” he said. “It’s really cold.”

The two Ventura County sheriff’s deputies who work at the Lockwood Valley station advised people not to come to the mountains unprepared.

“This is a cross-country ski area, and every year people get lost on the trails,” Deputy Dave Kenney said. “We get lots of search-and-rescue calls and medical calls.”

Kenney said that sometimes lost people have been found in snow caves they built to escape the cold.

“It’s good to have sense like that up here in the mountains,” he said.

California Highway Patrol officials said that if more snow fell, motorists on California 33 may be required to use chains, and entire stretches of the road may be closed.

On Wednesday, they were busy responding to several minor accidents involving cars that lost control on icy roads.

Willy Cortez and Albaro Lozano were driving into the area from Oxnard to see the snow when their Cadillac skidded across State 33 and over an embankment.

“We just came up here for the first time and it will probably be the last,” said Cortez, who was unable to call for help because there is no phone service near Pine Mountain.

He and his friend sought refuge at Wolf’s Pine Mountain Inn, where a wood-burning stove kept several of the area’s residents warm.

Bookout, who has lived in the area for six years, said accident victims are frequent visitors to the inn.

“I remember one year we had five accidents along the same corner in a half-hour’s time,” she said. “It happens all winter long.”

Dennis Greenway, who has lived in the wilds of Pine Mountain for about a year, said the area does have its shortcomings.

In addition to the icy roads, residents have no electricity, no phone service and must travel 20 miles to pick up mail.

If there is an emergency, Greenway said, residents use a ham radio to contact authorities.

But Greenway said it is worth the trouble to experience winter in the region.

“People really enjoy coming up here to see the snow,” he said. “It’s pretty incredible that they can be in Ventura, and a half-hour later be in the middle of the snow.”

Greenway said he planned to build a toboggan run on a clear hillside next to the inn. That was good news to 9-year-old Jeannie Hoxer, and her 5-year-old brother, Johnny.

The two children spent their first day in the snow riding on brightly colored plastic sleds.

“It’s cold and wet, but it’s really fun,” Jeannie said after plowing into some bushes on her sled. “It’s just like I thought it would be.”