San Bernardino County declared a local emergency due to several feet of snow in the mountain communities. As of Wednesday morning, Hwy 138 was closed from Beekly Road all the way to the I-15 due to another snow storm causing hazardous road conditions. The storm is expected to last until this afternoon and significantly impact roads that had initially been plowed.
According to a press release from SBC, “County Public Works and Caltrans crews have been working tirelessly around the clock to create access along key routes for first responders, and progress is being made in some residential areas. However, there is no estimate for when mountain highways will open to public traffic or when residential areas will be safe for local travel.”
Many snowplows and snow removal resources are being poured into communities like Lake Arrowhead, Running Springs, Arrowbear, and Green Valley Lake which have experienced power outages and dwindling food supplies for the past few days. Food and power have been less of a concern in Wrightwood but still impacted since Jensen’s was low on a few items like bread and some fresh produce.
The main concern for residents has been snow removal on streets, driveways, cars, and berms. Mountain Hardware announced on their social media that they had run out of snow shovels and ice melt but hope to get a new shipment soon. Residents can submit a snow removal request for their road on the San Bernardino County website but should expect to experience delays due to the volume of requests.
Wrightwood CSD has been working on compiling a list of available snow removal services. If you are interested in hiring someone to remove snow from your property, call the office at (760) 249-3205 or email office@wrightwoodcsd.org. Wrightwood CSD also has provided a list of phone numbers for important contacts in San Bernardino County.
Wrightwood CSD Board Member, Sadie E. Albers has advocated for the Governor of California to declare a State of Emergency in order to deploy more snow removal resources stating in a document she released on social media, “The town has scrambled all week to try and help the elderly and disabled to get their driveways cleared… Not everyone has access to pay for that type of snow removal…We need access to alternative snow removal (front loaders, blowers, snow hauling) as the town is overwhelmed by the current snow amount.”
Other local government officials are looking to the state for resources as well. In the meantime, an Emergency Board of Supervisors Meeting was held for SB County this afternoon to address the local emergency in mountain communities. The board approved a $10 Million allocation for emergency construction and modifications related to the effects of the storm. Chief Executive Officer, Leonard X. Hernandez stated that the money will help to quickly lease and rent equipment where needed. In the meeting, Hernandez acknowledged that the Wrightwood community has been negatively impacted by large berms with lack of resources for snow removal. Hernandez stated that his team will follow up with First District Supervisor, Paul Cook for solution plans soon.
