SoCal mountain communities still clearing snow from rare blizzard, others trapped weeks later

Lake Arrowhead, California – A pre-spring winter wonderland has ravaged much of the United States in the past few weeks, from a nor’easter in the Northeast to a rare blizzard in Southern California.

In the San Bernardino Mountains, where the inhabitants are accustomed. Wildfires, not blizzards., some are still stranded, and others have been homeless for three weeks as nearly 10 feet of snow covered homes, businesses and roads. At least 13 people were killed. And now, all that’s left is a mess and slowly melting snow.

The last time this area received as significant snowfall was in 1991 during the “March Miracle” when up to six feet of snow fell.

“We don’t get blizzard warnings in this area. I wouldn’t even say it’s rare,” said Eric Sharon, public information officer for the San Bernardino Fire Department.

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“This storm was very different. We’re seeing record snowfall in many of these communities, which pretty much brought life to a standstill,” Sharon said.

About 15 miles east of the communities hardest hit by this year’s storms is Big Bear Valley. In late January 2010, residents were buried under more than five feet of snow. The first storms of winter From November 2009 to March 2010, the area received about nine and a half feet of snow. In comparison, mountain communities in the San Bernardino National Forest were stuck in just as many days of snow.

A Crestline, California, woman and her husband woke up to a white wall surrounding their home.

“We had two gazebos on our deck that broke on top of all our patio furniture, and the ring of fire and all that kind of stuff took everything out. That sound really woke us up. I thought, oh my God. , What? Next? What’s going to happen next?” Paige Renfro said. “Our ceilings were at least four feet back then and it’s a big house with a lot of roof space.”

A week ago, she could not even see the house across from her.

She and her husband have lived. Crestline, California, has been living in his “trees” for 38 years in the San Bernardino Mountains. Their home, which is on a steep slope, was unscathed, but not everyone was so lucky.

With generators, food and even their snowplows, Renfrew residents became a “command post,” Paige said.

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“We have some girls who live two doors down, and they and their cats couldn’t get out to get help … they put a little sign in their window that said, It said ‘Help us get stuck,” Renfro said. “And the problem was we couldn’t see the signs because there were so many. So finally, we were digging, and my husband looked in and saw the sign and they dug it out.”

The storm affected a 52-mile stretch from end to end, and the San Bernardino County Fire Department received more than 1,800 calls.

They maintain a fleet of eight snowcats equipped with fire gear, the largest fleet in the region. With “total loss of road infrastructure”, snowcats were the only vehicles used during the worst of the icy roads.

“Because of them, we haven’t had a single person call 911 that we couldn’t reach. And that’s thanks to the snow cats,” Sherwin said.

As the snow melts in recent days, they revert to traditional fire engines and ambulances. In the days following the storm, they used ATVs on land and fireboats on lakes.

Authorities are still assessing the damage, but residents are faced with rebuilding damaged homes, digging out their submerged cars and making sure everyone gets out successfully. Most of the damage was done to carports, sheds, garages and other structures that were not designed to withstand the weight of several feet of snow.

Michael Rachau is originally from Crestline but currently lives in Topanga Beach, California. He broke his ribs during the meeting, and is now visiting a friend’s house.

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“You know, weeks later, we’ve had snow inside. I haven’t seen this much snow since I’ve lived here,” Rachau said.

Goodwin’s, one of the only grocery stores serving the Lake Arrowhead and Crestline communities, is still closed after snow caused property damage. It has been open since 1946.

“It’s about five minutes to get bread or go get milk, and we’re going to miss it for a while,” said Renfrew. “They (the owners) are really positive about it, so it makes me feel good to hear them being so positive. They’re not giving up. They’re going to rebuild. And we’ve got a grocery here. Need a store.”

The nearest Walmart is about 17 miles away — and inaccessible during the storm.

With the help of multiple agencies, the county has cleaned up its county and state roads, as far south as San Diego and as far north as Santa Barbara.

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But some in more remote mountain areas, such as Renfrews, live on private roads where the county is not responsible for plowing. If they are not plowed, the power companies cannot reach them. His neighbors were out of power for nine days.

“The streets below us were a web of darkness,” he said. “They had no way out, and they had no power, so it was cold, dark and no communication.”

She compares it to the Titanic.

“After the rowboats got out, (they) waited for the ship to sink, and then they came in to try to save the people. They looked around and said, ‘We’ve waited too long,'” he said. ‘” said Renfrew. “And I believe 13 people died here.”

She says officials should step in regardless because her roads are private, albeit paved, which she and her husband paid for out of pocket for the neighborhood.

“I’m not disappointed in the county in any way. I think they followed their own protocol,” Renfrew said. “Clearing the path to safety is the most important thing. It should actually eliminate the protocol that the county or anybody else has in place during a disaster. That should actually be the primary thing. And I’m sure it was, but I It seems forgotten that few of us felt that way.”

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She says she would like to see an amendment to change the approach to who is responsible for plowing private roads. During a natural disaster.

“They have to create people to come and access all the roads, private, state, county roads,” Renfrew said. “If there’s another disaster, I don’t want 13 people to die because of it.”

The fire department says it approached the blizzard the same way its approach to wildfires exhausts all available resources.

They created a prescription delivery program in response to this year’s snowfall. All the local pharmacies participated, and the fire department helped evacuate the trapped people. And distribution of food and firewood was also arranged.

“The county had all the equipment and personnel assigned to the incident and they were committed to the incident,” said Sharon with the fire department.

Schools reopened, and life was almost back to normal in Lake Arrowhead Village, the main shopping and dining center, on Thursday — 20 days after the Feb. 24 blizzard.

But the snow is still a work in progress for Renfrew, who are still clearing their private roads with snowcats that have had to be repaired multiple times.

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“Everyone is equal on this mountain. There are lives on every road, whether they’re considered county or not,” Renfro said. “

The next steps are insurance claims and damage assessment.

“We see communities that are at constant risk of wildfires and pay significant premiums for fire insurance,” said Sharon with the fire department. “And then there’s this winter storm that comes and takes people’s homes. And that was a tough, tough pill for me to swallow.”