San Bernardino County officials say poor response to severe winter weather was due to lack of preparation

San Bernardino County has released a report on the severe winter weather that devastated the region in early 2023, claiming that their poor response was due to a lack of planning ahead. 

The lengthy report, which was released on Friday, took a look at why so many residents were left stranded for days and how the area ran so low on food and other essentials. 

In short, county officials say that they were not trained or staffed well enough to meet the high demands of residents who were left helpless by the storms. They also claimed that they did not have enough equipment that could help with their response efforts. 

On top of it all, they cited a distinct lack of communication between other officials and the public. 

Many of those residents say the outcome of the report is far from a surprise, as they in turn looked to each other for help instead of waiting for government officials to reach their doors. 

The monumental blizzard dumped as much as 11 feet of snow in some areas, leaving behind considerable damage to homes, stores and other buildings. 

"it's hard to blame them," said Crestline resident Laurie McQuay, noting that it's difficult to predict Mother Nature. "But, it's nice that they take responsibility and hold themselves accountable to that so it doesn't happen again."

Melissa Post, another resident of the area, was extremely active during recovery efforts, organizing food distribution efforts for those in need.

"I don't think, you know, anyone could really prepare that much for what Mother Nature could surprise us with," Post said. "It makes me feel really relieved as a resident that I don't have to go play Superwoman for a week."

San Bernardino County Supervisor Dawn Rowe wrote about the county's response. 

"The winter storms created a tremendous hardship for many of our mountain residents and businesses," her statement said. "It was important to take a hard public look at how the county performed, particularly where we fell short, and implement improvements."

Since that time, the county says they have since restructured their Office of Emergency Services and filled all job openings ahead of this winter season, using $2.5 from the state to purchase new snow-clearing gear and $1 million on snow chains for vehicles. 

"They spent a bunch of money, but I don't believe they probably did a whole lot of anything," said one man named Dave, who traversed the mountain with his loader to clear roads for businesses and people who were trapped. 

Additionally, they've created a preparedness website to keep residents informed in the event of another natural disaster.