County, state and federal leaders and first responders this morning briefed the public and the news media on recovery efforts related to the record snowfall in the San Bernardino mountains during a livestreamed news conference.
"We sympathize with our residents and our businesses. We know that this is an exceptionally tough time for those that are still stranded on the mountain," said Board of Supervisors Chair Dawn Rowe. "Yesterday were were finally able to rescue many from their homes. But many are still stranded."
“Residents who are still trapped, if you have food and water, please remain sheltered in place,” Rowe said. “We are making headway on clearing the roads, but it’s going to take some time.”
Residents experiencing life-threatening emergencies should call 911, and residents who are running low on supplies or who simply need information should call the County’s 24-hour help line at 909-387-3911.
As of this morning, the help line had received 2,051 calls from residents asking about the clearing of roads, the availability of food, structural issues with their homes, and the integrity of natural gas lines.
View the complete news conference here.
Online Snow Removal Map
Many of the questions coming into the help line can now be answered by an online interactive snow removal map unveiled today by the County Public Works Department.
The map shows that as of this morning, 309 miles or 59 percent of the roadways maintained by San Bernardino County had been cleared by crews working around the clock since last week from Mt. Baldy and Wrightwood to the eastern edge of the Big Bear Valley.
Caltrans came out with some impressive numbers of their own today, reporting that more than 50 Caltrans employees operating 33 high-powered pieces of equipment, including graders, loaders, dump trucks, snowplows and blowers, have removed more than 7 million cubic yards of snow from state highways in San Bernardino County. That equates to nearly 2,205 Olympic-size swimming pools. In addition, private contractors have removed another 750,000 cubic yards of snow from state routes 18 and 330.
First of Several Commodity Distribution Sites
San Bernardino County, in collaboration with Snowline School District, established a Commodity Point of Distribution (C-POD) in Wrightwood for those individuals who have been impacted by the winter storms.
Commodity Points of Distribution are sites where the public can go to pick up supplies during interruptions to regular supply chains or during disaster situations.
The Wrightwood C-Pod is located at Wrightwood Elementary School, 1175 State Highway 2, Wrightwood, California 92397. The site will be open Saturday 3/4/23 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (See flyer below)
Items available at the distribution site will include water, food, blankets, batteries, and baby supplies. Residents may call the hotline 24/7 at 909-387-3911 for more information.
Other C-POD sites will open soon in other storm-impacted communities.
Food Distribution
Food is on the way up to the mountain communities and will be distributed today from Goodwin’s, located on the corner of Lake Drive and Lake Gregory Drive in Crestline.
Additional food will be delivered and distributed as follows:
- Saturday, March 4, 2023 - Goodwin’s Grocery in Crestline - 8 a.m. and as long as supplies Last
- Saturday, March 4, 2023 - Charles Hoffman Elementary School in Running Springs - 1 p.m. and as long as supplies last
Attempts to deliver and distribute additional food supplies will continue as long as we are able to.
For more information, please call the County help line at 909-387-3911.
Damage Assessment Tool
The San Bernardino County Fire Protection District has created an online tool residents can use to report damage to their property.
Damage assessment teams are having difficulty accessing areas due to the heavy snow still blocking access to many neighborhoods. The online Damage Assessment Tool allows home and business owners to report damage not noticeable from an exterior survey.
Information collected by the tool will be shared with local, state and federal agencies to assist with disaster relief. You may be contacted at your property by the County Damage Assessment Unit if your reported damage meets the reporting criteria. Please be advised this survey will not generate an emergency response.
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