Many residents remained trapped in their homes in the San Bernardino Mountains on Wednesday as crews worked to clear roads of snow that has blanketed the area in recent days, leading to at least one report of a collapsed roof and hampering the emergency response to a structure fire that injured two people.
Crews from the California Department of Transportation had planned to escort residents over mountain highways that have been closed since Friday, but those plans were suspended Wednesday morning because drivers continued to get stuck in the snow even with chains on their tires.
Workers are racing to clear the highways for residents in the Lake Arrowhead, Crestline and Running Springs communities, according to county officials.
“We understand the nature of this emergency and how it is impacting our residents,” San Bernardino County Supervisor Dawn Rowe said during a news conference Wednesday. “We know we have stranded residents. It is our No. 1 priority to get to those residents so that they can have the safe environment that we hope to provide to them.”
In the community of Blue Jay, about a mile from Lake Arrowhead Village, a structure fire injured two people, according to the San Bernardino County Fire Department. The structure was “fully involved to the ground” and only accessible by snow cat , the department said on Twitter, noting firefighters had to dig through snow to get to the hydrant.
Lake Arrowhead has received 2.5 feet of snow in the last 48 hours, according to the National Weather Service, and the surrounding area has seen over 6 feet of snow in the last week.
Goodwin’s Market in Crestline was closed Wednesday after the additional snowfall overnight collapsed part of its roof.
“We know many of you are counting on us and we will do everything we can to get open as soon as possible,” the market said in a Facebook post.
Rowe acknowledged that the risk to structures was also a concern for the county heading into the sixth day of snowfall.
Mounds of snow reach rooftops in the mountain communities and have made it nearly impossible to get around by car or on foot.
“We hear you. We know that you are concerned and we know that this is changing with the additional snow that fell last night,” Rowe said.
Snowplow drivers are expected to be clearing the roads for the next week, Rowe said.
Some residents posted videos on social media of their journeys up the mountain highways with escorts from Caltrans before they were put on pause.
Many more are trapped in their homes.
Brooke Cutler and her family spent most of Tuesday digging their way out of the snow at their home in Lake Arrowhead.
A plow had cleared the paved and dirt roads in her neighborhood overnight. Large mounds of snow were piled up outside her home, but by the time Cutler and her family dug their way out, the roads were covered by snow again.
The plows “had just gotten to the neighborhood roads and did a good job of clearing them,” Cutler said. “We had to shovel out our cars, and by the time we had shoveled them out it was dark and the snow started again.”
Cutler figured that if a few inches fell overnight, she could dig herself out in the morning with her family.
“It ended up being 1 to 2 feet. So, we’re stuck again,” Cutler said. “We imagine the plows are starting over on the cycle again to clear the other roads.”
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