PINE MOUNTAIN CLUB, Calif. (KERO) — The community in Pine Mountain Club has been living through the impacts of the recent storms. Over the weekend, the area has had help from several local agencies to help clear their roadways.
The recent powerful winter storms blocked roads and pathways, making it difficult for people to get out of their homes, or even for utility workers to get in and address the power outages.
"We got over 2 feet the first time, and then the next day we got another 2 feet, and then we got more snow, so we are totaling more than 4 feet," said Pine Mountain Club resident Lewis Lermon.
Lermon has been living in Pine Mountain Club for 28 years and says it's been more than a decade since he has seen more than 5 feet of snow fall in the area. On Saturday morning, 50 Kern County Firefighters, Supervisor Zack Scrivner, as well as a dozen equipment operators from the county's public works department drove up to clear the community's roadways.
But Lermon says the cleanup efforts took longer than he had hoped.
"It took about 2 days to get out of my house, and they didn't plow the streets, so we really couldn't get out for another day because the streets were not plowed," said Lermon. "They should have plowed it a little sooner when the storm first started. I think they would have had a better shot at success."
He added that his neighbors were asking for propane and firewood.
Relief efforts on Saturday included propane companies delivering to homes and FedEx employees passing out packages to neighbors which included items like prescriptions and pet food.
The Kern County Fire Department saying this is a lesson to be learned about being prepared.
Larry Handy, another Pine Mountain Club resident, says he's been living there for 16 years, and says this storm was unusual.
"This snow is big. A lot of trees are broken. People are still locked out of their homes. Tractors are breaking," said Handy.
Andrew Freeborn with KCFD says that although Kern County is surrounded by mountain communities, Pine Mountain Club got hit the hardest.
"It was snow measured in feet rather than snow measured in inches," said Freeborn. He also added they were getting reports of people without food two days into the snow storm.
Meanwhile, Lermon says when his power would go out, it would sometimes be for hours at a time.
"It looks like Edison and all the tree crews came up and took down the trees that had dropped the lines, fixed the power, got it all back up and running, so that was nice," said Lermon.
Lermon says it did get cold, but despite it all, he considers himself lucky, since those that live higher up the mountain were without power for a day, and some are still stuck up there.
Larry Handy also pointed out that people are still snowed in.
"It is great for all the water and everything," Handy said of the snowfall, "but hopefully we can get them dug out soon."
KCFD also saying they are in communication with other agencies to prepare for the next snow storm.
To help increase community awareness on what to do in situations similar to the one happening in Pine Mountain Club, the Kern County Fire Department has announced they will be hosting a Community Preparedness event on March 25 at CSUB along with several other agencies.
They will cover winter preparedness like having enough nonperishable food and water, planning for interruptions to communication services and having alternative ways to stay warm.
Read more information about emergency preparedness from KCFD here.
IN DEPTH: SNOW IMPACTS ACROSS CALIFORNIA
The entire state of California has seen tremendous impacts from recent winter storms, and some parts of the state are still facing challenging conditions.
Over the March 4-5 weekend, the California Department of Transportation reports it removed just over 1.6 million liquid gallons of snow in the Twin Peaks area.
Meanwhile, the National Weather Service is reporting that the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range could get up to an additional 3 feet of snow between Monday and Thursday. Some areas in the affected region have seen more than 30 inches of snowfall over a 24-hour period recently.
Officials also say that part of Interstate 80 at the Nevada state line will remain shut down because of winter conditions, and they say they have "no estimated time of reopening."
