Hundreds escorted home as road closures continue in San Bernardino mountains

The California Highway Patrol suspended escorts for drivers heading up Highway 18 en route to mountain communities due to fog and snow Wednesday morning. Highway 18 access has been suspended multiple times over the course of the latest winter storm.

Hundreds of residents in the San Bernardino mountains had finally made it back home Tuesday night after a severe storm dumped several feet of snow onto roadways.

The lucky residents celebrated by honking while authorities escorted 30 to 40 drivers at a time. However, behind them lies a seemingly endless line of cars, many of whom are anxiously waiting to make it back to loved ones trapped in the mountains. 

"You just start getting more antsy every day," said Lake Arrowhead resident Matt Dietzman. "I have animals up there and my mom is up there alone."

Dietzman's mom has been snowed into her Lake Arrowhead home, alone, for a week. He and his dad Ron are hoping to reach her as soon as possible. 

"I've got some medication I'm going to take to her," said Ron. "It's tough being separated — her being stranded there and me trying to get to her."

The ordeal began when massive amounts of snow blocked the major highways connecting the mountain communities to the outside world. According to meteorologists, several feet of snow fell in the area. On Monday, the situation became so dire county officials declared a local emergency seeking state and federal help to clear snow from the mountain highways.

A winter weather advisory will be in effect for the mountains until 1 p.m. Tuesday when a more serious winter storm warning will take effect and remain in place until 10 p.m. Wednesday, according to the NWS.

Forecasters said the mountains can anticipate "moderate snow through Tuesday afternoon, becoming heavy at times late Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday. Snow total of  8 to 16 inches with local amounts to 24 inches, highest in the eastern San Gabriel mountains. Winds will gust from 40 mph to locally 60 mph at times."

San Bernardino County said they've been trucking food up to the grocery stores and fuel to the gas stations. However, many people said they can't get to those resources because county crews still haven't plowed through waist-high snow on their streets.

"We've seen one on the road from far away for like 10 minutes but then it was gone," said Lake Arrowhead resident Erika Bower. "We haven't seen another one since Friday."

A Crestline resident named Kevin showed that the view from his home is a massive seven-foot wall of snow that has trapped his SUV. He said people have started digging paths out of their homes and walking to the grocery store just to bring food back home.

"It would be great if the leadership of the county would answer the residents because they haven't said anything and they're just leaving us hung out to dry," Kevin said. 

San Bernardino County Supervisor Dawn Rowe has tried to soothe the residents' frustration by promising that the plows are working but on their own system. 

"I know that some of our residents haven't seen a plow in several days," said Rowe. "They have a system that they're working on."

After taking an aerial tour of the blizzard zone today, Rowe said it's clear that the cleanup effort will take a massive amount of coordination between many agencies. And while the county has plowed some smaller roads, they'll need a lot more time to get to everyone.

"We have more weather coming in tonight, so we're trying to stay on top of it and get caught up from before," she said. "It's going to be a matter of days until all those roads get plowed."

The county said that the public works department is getting a type of snow removal tool ready for the public to use and learn which roads around their homes will be plowed and when. 

San Bernardino County has an emergency hotline for anyone trapped or in need of supplies: (909) 387-3911.