To the rooftops: Staggering snowfall in California mountains
LOS ANGELES — Emergency crews in California scrambled Wednesday to shuttle food and medicine to mountain communities stranded by back-to-back winter storms that have dumped so much snow some residents can barely see out their windows.
In San Bernardino County east of Los Angeles, aroundthe-clock plowing is underway but it could take more than a week to reach some areas, said Dawn Rowe, chair of the county’s board of supervisors. Residents are dealing with as much as 7 feet (2 meters) of snow, and sheriffs’ authorities have conducted 17 rescue operations to help off-roaders and skiers.
Emergency crews are trying to reach residents who need assistance.
In Crestline, the entire roof of Goodwin and Sons Market collapsed Wednesday even as safety inspectors were onsite checking up on reported damage. Officials raced to salvage food residents sorely need from its shelves.
Rowe said no one was injured.
“We know that roofs are starting to collapse,” she said. “There are other businesses that will likely be affected by the weight of the snow.”
The county has set up a hotline for residents dealing with issues like frozen pipes, roof problems, and food shortages.
The San Bernardino Mountains are a major tourism and recreation destination but also home to a large year-round population in small cities and communities around lakes and scattered along winding roads. About 80,000 people live either part- or full-time in the communities affected, said David Wert, a county spokesman.
Anthony Cimino, a 51-year-old retiree, said he’s been snowed in for about a week in the mountain community of Running Springs. He finally managed to clear his decks, but not for long.
“I woke up this morning and there was another twoand-a-half feet on them,” he said. “It was kind of like Groundhog Day.”
Residents of these towns are grappling with so much snow they’re running out of space to put it; clearing one area adds heaps to another.
Grocery shelves had run bare of some items, like bread, and were running low on eggs and milk Tuesday. Cars remained buried under snow and roads closed.
At David and Kelli Góra’s home in Big Bear Lake, the snow on the roof is now touching the snow on the ground. They shoveled a small area to let their dogs go outside, but are mostly hunkered down.
“We’ve been through some big storms … but this is just unreal,” David Góra said. “I’ve never seen anything like it anywhere.”
Over the past week, historic snowfall, ice and cold temperatures brought much of Portland, Oregon, to a standstill, trapping drivers on roads and highways, paralyzing government services and leading to at least two suspected hypothermia deaths.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, record high temperatures were expected Wednesday along the Gulf Coast and into the Ohio Valley while the southern Plains to the mid-South braced for possible tornadoes Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.