More than 43 million Americans are expected to travel more than 50 miles from home this Memorial Day weekend, according to AAA.
At LAX, 1.4 million people are expected to use the airport. To put that in perspective, that’s more than the entire population of Montana.
California Highway Patrol is stepping up patrols this weekend with a max enforcement effort. It began at 6 p.m. on Friday and will continue through Sunday evening.
CHP will have 80 percent of its staff working this weekend and officers will be busy. On average, 20 to 25 people will be arrested.
The Central Coast will see an increase in visitors from around the state and beyond.
“It is significant,” Sgt. Perry Heidebrink said. “You get a lot of folks from the valley, from LA they come up here. Pismo Beach is a big one and people go to the Dunes. You have graduation… so we’re seeing an increase of people for that. And it is significant. They want to get out of the heat, so this is a cooler place to go so this is where they come.”
Gas prices aren’t cheap either. In San Luis Obispo County, the average cost of regular gas is $4.19 per gallon. The lowest gas can be found for $3.89.
Santa Barbara County is slightly cheaper at $4.08 per gallon. In total, regular grade gas is up about 10 cents in the state compared to last year.
