Some residents of California’s mountain communities in San Bernardino County remain trapped in their homes by high walls of snow — 21 days after the blizzards began, and two weeks after Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) declared a state of emergency.
Newsom left for Baja California, in Mexico, the next day, without explanation, returning three days later. He still has not apologized for leaving as residents were trapped, and dying, in their homes.
DUBLIN, CA – DECEMBER 17: California Governor Gavin Newsom introduces new state efforts and proposed investments to fight and prevent crime across the state during a news conference in Dublin, Calif., on Friday, Dec. 17, 2021. Newsom was joined by Attorney General Rob Bonta, and other law enforcement leaders. (Photo by Ray Chavez/MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty Images)
Despite the ongoing emergency, Newsom plans to begin a series of speeches across the state Thursday in lieu of a formal “State of the State” address to the legislature. He promises to offer “transformative policy proposals.”
The Los Angeles Times reported Monday that some residents still cannot leave their homes because of blocked doors and driveways:
Although the snow stopped falling weeks ago, life in the San Bernardino Mountains is far from back to normal. More than a dozens residents have been found dead in the wake of the series of storms that blocked roads and stranded residents, some unable to dig out from behind several feet of snow. Although all county roads have been plowed as of Monday — though many remain just a single lane — and mountain roads have reopened to the public, many local residents are angry and frustrated at the slow pace of the recovery.
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[C]oncern on the mountain remains, especially after roads reopened to the public this weekend, prompting hundreds of angry comments on the California Department of Transportation’s Facebook announcement. People who identified themselves as mountain residents called it a “terrible idea,” a “dangerous situation” and “dumb,” questioning why visitors can come in when schools are still closed and many people are still stranded.
Rain is set to arrive on Tuesday, exacerbating flood conditions in the mountains.
A business with a caved-in roof in Crestline, California, US, on Tuesday, March 7, 2023. The San Bernardino Mountains received more than 100 inches of snow over the past several days, stranding an unknown number of residents in the mountain communities, reports the Los Angeles Times. Photographer: Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The same “atmospheric river” also threatens flooding further north, where Highway 1 was closed between Santa Cruz and Monterrey, and where snow continues to damage homes and buildings in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
One popular lodge burned down after a propane line was damaged and firefighters could not reach the building due to snow.
The topics of Newsom’s “transformative” addresses are: “homelessness,” “improving public safety,” “reducing health care costs,” and “mental health care reform.” He will send a written report to the state legislature.
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.