Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Southern California snow: Residents are stranded as another round of winter weather hits the northern part of the state

(CNN) After Repeated winter storms Many of California’s mountain communities are inundated with snow as another round of snowfall heads into the Sierra Nevada region, while the state’s hardest-hit southern San Bernardino County is getting some relief as some residents trapped by walls of snow worry about their dwindling supplies.

The Sierra Nevada mountain range saw 1 to 3 inches of snow through Tuesday, and 31 inches of snow fell in 24 hours for Soda Springs in Nevada County and Donner Peak in Placer County over the weekend, and 38 inches in 24 hours.

Heavy weekend snowfall and high winds have triggered an avalanche warning for parts of the central and southern Sierra Nevada through Monday.

Several rounds of snow have hit the region in recent days, sparking Yosemite National Park Close indefinitely. The park reported up to 15 feet of snow in some areas.

But further south in San Bernardino County, emergency crews are working to reach communities immobilized by heavy snow, with mountains likely to see only light snow Monday morning before getting a much-needed break for much of the week.

UPS delivery driver Juan Hernandez delivers a package to a snow-covered home in Truckee, California, Friday.

‘People are desperate’

A series of winter storms that moved across the western United States trapped many people in their homes in the San Bernardino Mountains, and cars were buried under piles of snow, sometimes rising to second-story windows. Important businesses in the area, including some grocery stores, were forced to close.

“People are desperate. They need medicine. Their kids need food,” said Derek Hayes, who lives in the Cedar Glen community. She said she has been leaving her home for several days to get groceries and visit elderly neighbors.

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San Bernardino County is one of the states under 13 state of emergency Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an order authorizing the arrival of emergency personnel and resources, including the California National Guard, to support rescue and recovery efforts.

Plowing about 500 miles of tight, winding roads across the San Bernardino County hill country is one of the most important tasks, officials said last week.

By Sunday, around 80% of the maintained roads in the district had been made passable, the district administration said. An upgrade. “Passable means at least one trail that is open with less than 8 inches of snow and is passable by four-wheel vehicles with chains.” The update said.

About 150 people were rescued from their neighborhoods on Saturday and 22 residents were taken to shelters or off the mountain on Sunday, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office said. said. Deputies also provided food to residents over the weekend.

However, some residents say their neighborhood streets are still covered in snow even though major roads have been cleared, meaning they have to wait for help or trek miles or trek to reach shelters or food distribution sites, which is not an option. Disabled or elderly people.

Hayes said the snowplow operator told him he couldn’t plow his road because there were snow-covered cars on the street.

People wait for food at Goodwin & Son Market in Crestline, California, on Friday.

“We have been assured that help will come. But we are a little impatient here,” he said. “We probably have a week’s worth of food left. A lot of our shops are closed because the roof has collapsed and gas stations are still low on fuel.”

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“I don’t know how much longer we can hold out,” he said.

San Bernardino County resident Ileana Vargas and her family were unable to return to their home for several days after they went to get supplies, only to be told the road was closed.

“We have our whole lives, our businesses, my work, my laptop, everything,” Vargas said. She worries her house will collapse under the weight of the snow and is anxious to get home to prevent that, Vargas said.

CNN’s Monica Garrett, Rebecca Reiss, Sarah Moon, David Williams, Michael Watson, Dakin Anton and Paradise Afshar contributed to this report.

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