"Absolutely wonderful": Neighbors help each other as snow accumulates across foothills
POLLOCK PINES -- The snow is piling up in Pollock Pines and Malinda Stewart had to make a quick trip up to Polaris St.
"I'm at my grandma's house and she's going to be 94 in March," Stewart tells CBS13.
Stewart is the only one in her family with a four-wheel drive car and snow tires that could make it up to Pollock Pines. She grew up in the house across the street from her grandmother and has experienced every variation of winter in the Sierra Foothills. Just off of Polaris Street, cars lined up to get back on Highway 50 which suffered intermittent closures all of Tuesday.
"Few storms have been more storms more like the late '80s and early '90s so is actually normal for here but we've have not had this much snow in a while," Stewart explained.
For those that live up here, it's a learning experience. Residents that are new to the area have their baptism by snowfall and then over time become seasoned veterans in how to handle a storm that can dump over feet of snow in a matter of days.
"We thought that it wasn't going to be nearly as bad and then Mother Nature said hold my beer," Tiffany Gill, enjoying her second winter in the foothills, joked.
"I've been loving it. It's been wonderful around here. Not everybody thinks so," said Michael Poyrot, who lives just up the street. "It's a lot to deal with but shoveling is my version of playing in the snow — the adult version of playing in the snow."
Poyrot's neighbors are also elderly and so he and his family will do check-ins, especially when the weather gets bad. CBS13 caught up with some El Dorado County Sheriff Search and Rescue teams and were told that the case on Polaris Street is mostly the case everywhere. They hadn't had a lot of welfare check calls because neighbors and residents had already been doing that for those in need in their respective areas.
"We help each other," Pine Street resident Bill Heard said.
Heard is 82 years old and has managed to stay active and shovel out his property whenever the snow accumulates. But after shoveling on Monday, he woke up to an additional foot of snow and decided to pack it in for the day.
"Today, I didn't. I wanted to get out and shovel this morning but it's too miserable," he said.
Like others in the area, Heard retired to Pollock Pines and has a good community around him to do check-ins and lend a hand. Two seasons ago, his generator ran out of power and a neighbor came by with fresh gas to help him keep the lights on. Just about everyone who lives on Polaris St. has similar stories.
"My grandma's lived here since this late '70s and there are a lot of new neighbors but they do know that she's here by herself, so we can give them a call and they've come over and checked on her," Stewart mentioned. "I think for Pollock Pines, you'll find anybody that's been here a while or even new people coming into the area, if you're nice to your neighbor, they'll be nice to you"
"Neighborhood is absolutely wonderful," said Gill. "The neighbors really come together and help each other out make sure that everybody has everything they need like honestly we couldn't ask for better neighbors."