San Bernardino County today continued its coordinated response to the ongoing historic snowstorms affecting the county’s mountain communities, continuing to clear roads, expedite the delivery of food and medications to the top of the mountain, and serve residents stranded at the bottom of the mountain.
County Public Works announced today that it is preparing a snow removal GIS tool that will show the public what roads were plowed the prior day and the scheduled plowing for the current day.
Another major winter storm will impact the mountains tonight through Wednesday afternoon. The heaviest snow will occur after midnight through 10 a.m. Wednesday with snow gradually tapering off Wednesday afternoon.
Dry weather will prevail Thursday through the upcoming weekend with just a slight chance of light snow returning by Monday, March 6.
County Public Works has been in coordination with multiple agencies including CalFire, County Fire, the County Office of Emergency Services, Caltrans, and Southern California Edison. Crews have been working diligently around the clock to plow County-maintained roads as quickly as possible.
The County has produced a brief video that illustrates the impact of the storms as well as the response efforts.
The priority is on primary roads creating arterial access from the state highways. Crews have been successful in plowing most primary roads across the mountain. Loaders are the primary snow removal heavy equipment in many areas due to the depth of the snow. Road graders and trucks cannot effectively remove snow in deep snow in excess of 3 feet.
Secondary roads will be completed once primary roads are passable. When storms stop, the County will begin to work on the widening and clearing of roads.
Current Status:
- 8-9 inches of additional snow received Monday night impacted what had already been plowed
- Lake Arrowhead – Roads 5% passable
- Running Springs – Roads 20% passable
- Arrowbear – Roads 30% passable
- Green Valley Lake – Roads 30% passable
- Cedarpines Park – Nearly all roads have received at least one pass, though not all are currently passable due to continued snow fall.
Lake Arrowhead and Running Springs are heavily impacted with snow. Public Works must use loaders in many cases to dig out accumulated snow that is in excess of 3 feet. Graders and Loaders are operating at this time. Plow trucks will be utilized after the initial step of removing multiple feet of snow is completed.
Mountain snowplow miles:
- Caltrans – 173 Miles of Roads
- County roads – 410 Miles of Roads
- Local Special Districts – 86 Miles of Roads
The County and the American Red Cross continue to operate an emergency shelter and resource center for mountain residents who cannot get home at Redlands East Valley High School, 31000 E. Colton Ave. in Redlands. The shelter will be staffed around the clock. Resource representatives are available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
A call center is in operation at 909-387-3911 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. to provide information. The call center had received 64 calls as of 1 p.m. today. For animal service inquiries, please contact San Bernardino County Animal Care and Control at: 1-800-472-5609
All agencies are asking mountain residents and non-residents not currently on the mountain to avoid the area and allow road crews, first responders, and supply vehicles priority access to the limited number of roads that have been cleared.
The Sheriff’s Department and other first responders have had to divert resources to assist with several search and rescue calls for individuals engaged in non-essential travel across the mountain region. This is why agencies urge the public to be patient and respect the travel restrictions and road closures.
On February 27, 2023, San Bernardino County declared the existence of a local emergency after residents of mountain communities found themselves trapped at home or unable to reach home due to several feet of snow that fell over the weekend, with more to follow during the next several days.
The declaration seeks state and federal assistance to clear snow from mountain highways and neighborhood streets and support any other necessary work and services.
Resources:
Road Closures:
- California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) https://quickmap.dot.ca.gov/ for the latest road conditions
- San Bernardino County Public Works https://dpw.sbcounty.gov/operations/road-closures/ for the latest county-maintained roads conditions and https://dpw.sbcounty.gov/operations/snow-removal/FAQ/ FAQ
School Closures:
- For most current school closures:
- Bear Valley Unified School District: https://www.bearvalleyusd.org/
- Rim of the World Unified School District: https://www.rimsd.k12.ca.us/
- Hesperia Unified School District: https://www.hesperiausd.org/
- Snowline Schools: https://www.snowlineschools.com/apps/news/
- San Bernardino City Unified School District: https://www.sbcusd.com/
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