Residents Still Trapped in ‘Apocalyptic’ Snow in Mountains Near Los Angeles

Thousands of residents remain trapped in their communities — and even their homes — in the San Bernardino mountains near Los Angeles, as snow continued to fall on the region into early Wednesday morning.

As Breitbart News reported Monday evening, residents began to worry as roads remained largely unplowed and five-foot snow drifts kept many from leaving home. Those snow totals simply grew over the next 36 hours.

Now, as local news outlet KTLA reports, many are desperate for help:

Mountain communities in San Bernardino County continue to get slammed by heavy snow, with road closures stranding residents and even leading to empty supermarket shelves.

Those who were able to get out before the blizzard-like conditions hit are anxious to get home and check on their loved ones and property, but drivers going up Highway 18 are only allowed to go with California Highway Patrol and Caltrans escorts, and lines are long.

Now, many living in unincorporated mountain communities are making a desperate plea for help.

San Bernardino County officials are facing criticism over the lack of available emergency services in the storm, especially in unincorporated communities. Officials say they could not have anticipated the heavy snowfall.

The Los Angeles Times added that many residents feel they are trapped in an “apocalyptic” “nightmare”:

Resident Michelle Calkins and her husband, Nate, had been shoveling snow around their Lake Arrowhead property for the last six days. In between shoveling, she checked on her elderly neighbors and trekked to her local market a mile from her home.

Lake Arrowhead, an unincorporated community, relies on the county for services. Calkins said she and the rest of the community hadn’t received updates from the county on what type of resources could be coming their way.

“It seems apocalyptic. It seems like we’re in a nightmare we can’t wake up from,” Calkins said. “You really cannot comprehend what we’re going through unless you’re living through it.”

CalTrans, the state transportation agency responsible for clearing state highways through the region, warned sightseers not to attempt to visit the mountains — which, while beautiful, are currently extremely dangerous.

There was some good news, the Times noted: several hundred high school students from Irvine who had been visiting the area on a field trip and became trapped have been evacuated and are safely back at home.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.