The County is preparing for rain. You should, too.
 Rain is expected to fall on the county’s snow-impacted mountain communities in the coming days. While San Bernardino County Public Works and County Fire crews prepare for this next round of precipitation, they are also warning residents to take measures to protect themselves and their property.
The coming rain is likely to quickly melt much of the snow, creating the threat of flooding. The rain could also add weight to snow perched on rooftops, increasing the threat of collapse. Showers could also loosen roof-top snow that has turned to ice, causing it to slide off in heavy, dangerous sheets.
In addition to the precautions recommended in the above graphic, residents should make sure they are signed up for emergency notifications and also download the SB Ready app. Residents can do both on the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District website.
Crews from the San Bernardino County Department of Public Works have been working around the clock since the start of the February blizzard to remove snow from roads. For the past several days they have also been working to prepare the County’s network of flood-control facilities for the coming rain.
In this video, Public Works Director Brendon Biggs discusses how his team is already at work protecting the community for whatever the coming rainstorms might bring.
A limited supply of sandbags will be available at County Fire District fire stations. Homeowners should not depend on this supply and ideally should plan to purchase bags from home improvement and hardware stores. Purchase sandbags early and make them a part of your emergency supplies so they will be available when you need them.
Additional sandbag information and sandbag locations can be found on County Fire’s website. Sandbags will also be available at the following locations:
- Valley of Enchantment Elementary School
22836 Fir Ln, Crestline
- Crestline Community Center
24385 Lake Dr, Crestline
- Rim of the World High School
27400 CA-18 Lake Arrowhead
- Charles Hoffman Elementary School
2851 Running Springs School Rd, Running Springs
- San Bernardino County Fire Station 30
26330 CA-18, Rimforest
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Big Bear Lake Residents:
City of Big Bear Lake Public Works Yard
42040 Garstin Dr., Big Bear Lake
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Big Bear City Residents:
Big Bear Fire Department, Station 282
(Please ring the bell at any of the station doors for assistance with sand bags)
301 W Big Bear Blvd., Big Bear City
Watch County Fire Battalion Chief Mike Wakoski discuss the appropriate use of sandbags.
County crews have now serviced 98 percent of County roads
Nearly all roads for which the County is responsible for maintenance have been made passable by County crews working around the clock, including 100 percent of the roads in Lake Arrowhead, Running Springs, Blue Jay, Arrowbear, and Green Valley Lake.
See highlights of today's progress in this video. County crews have begun to revisit roads they have previously serviced to create second lanes.
These numbers do not include roads not within the County-Maintained Road System, such as private roads.
 County offers reimbursements of up to $500 for snow removal
Paying someone to remove snow from private property can be expensive, especially in communities that saw up to 10 feet of snowfall.
The County is using a portion of the $10 million set aside by the Board of Supervisors to reimburse residents and businesses up to $500 to help cover what they've spent on professional snow removal.
There are some requirements, including the submission of photos of the completed work.
See details in the flyer below.
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A hug for a County hero
San Bernardino County firefighters, a store clerk in Crestline, and the community come together to make sure residents trapped in their homes by snow receive the supplies and support they need.
See their story here.
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Southern California Edison offers assistance to its mountain customers
Southern California Edison (SCE) is here to help its customers impacted by the recent rain and snow events. Customers are eligible to receive support from SCE in a variety of ways that can help ease their recovery.
SCE will:
- Waive deposit requirements for affected small business customers seeking to reestablish service to a new location. SCE does not collect reestablishment deposits from residential customers.
- Discontinue billing for homes that have been destroyed, are deemed uninhabitable or have evacuation periods.
- Offer reasonable payment plans to help ease the financial impacts resulting from the disaster event.
- Suspend disconnection for non-payment.
The fact sheet below details the programs and contains links on the available programs and contact information on how to contact SCE to take advantage of these programs.
 Food continues to be available at the County’s Commodity Points of Distribution
The County recognizes that food has been hard to come by in our mountain communities. That’s why the County is making free food available to mountain residents at sites in Wrightwood, Running Springs, Blue Jay, Crestline, and the Valley of Enchantment. The County served 560 people today! For details, see the flyer below.
 If you smell something, say something!
If you smell natural gas, call Southern California Gas or 911. Do not turn off your own gas service, because it might be quite some time before the Gas Company can turn service back on.
 U.S. Postal Service reopens three mountain locations
Service has resumed at three United States Post Office facilities that have been closed since snowstorms affected their respective communities.
- Crestline Post Office, 23921 Lake Drive, Crestline
- Skyforest Post Office, 951 Kuffel Canyon Road, Skyforest
- Twin Peaks Post Office, 753 Rose Lane, Twin Peaks
Post Offices in Blue Jay, Lake Arrowhead, and Rimforest will remain closed until further notice.
County donation program is seeing results
Many donations from generous people and organizations with generous hearts have been received through the County's Storm Response donations program.
Residents in our mountain communities are in need of the public’s help to recover from the storms for weeks to come. The following is an example of donations that residents need:
- Canned goods
- Non-perishable foods
- Sanitary Supplies such as toilet paper, diapers, wipes, paper towels
- Dry goods
- Baby formula
- Water
There are two ways to donate:
1. During the business hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. donors may call our hotline at (909) 387-3911, press option 2, and speak to a live representative that will coordinate your donation.
After the hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., donors may click on the following link: San Bernardino County Storm Response Emergency Donations or scan the QR Code to provide information regarding donations. A County team member will reach out to donors to coordinate next steps if the specific services or items are needed at this time.
2. Cash donations will be received by the Red Cross. You can help people affected by disasters like storms and countless other crises by making a gift to Red Cross Disaster Relief. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small. Visit redcross.org, call 800-RED-CROSS, or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Please indicate San Bernardino County Storm Disaster Relief.
The need for donations will evolve with the conditions in the mountains. If donors do not receive a response from us, the donation may not be needed at this time.
The County will soon establish locations where mountain residents can access these donations.
Thank you for your support. Together we stand strong.
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