Southern California’s Two-Week-Long Snowstorm Leaves Tragedy in Its Wake

• Southern California was hit by a two-week-long snowstorm, with the San Bernardino Mountains bearing the brunt of its impact.
• The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office has responded to 13 death investigations, with eight being reviewed for potential links to the storm.
• Relatives and neighbors have described heartbreaking stories of those who died during the heavy snowstorms, with some being found days later due to blocked roads.
• As the region prepares for another storm, forecasts predict more hazards such as floods and downpours, with roofs already collapsing in the area.
• Hospital officials cite access to dialysis treatments as a particular concern, as the storm has made critical medical care hard to summon.

In late February, Southern California was hit by a staggering two-week-long snowstorm.

The mountain communities of the San Bernardino Mountains were particularly hard hit, and residents are still reeling from the aftermath of the storm. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office reported that it has responded to 13 death investigations, with eight being reviewed for potential links to the storm.

One of the 13 deaths was immediately deemed to be directly related to the winter weather. However, it is unclear how many more lives have been lost because of contributing, blizzard-related factors such as blocked roads, downed power lines, or critical medical care that could not be summoned.

Relatives and neighbours have described the heartbreaking end for those who died during heavy snowstorms northeast of Los Angeles. The power had been out for a week, and snow had piled up to the rafters in Crestline when neighbours found 93-year-old Elinor “Dolly” Avenatti bundled up in a chair in front of her fireplace, which had gone cold. Barbie Hughes, a 39-year-old clerk at the local hardware store, was hit by a vehicle on a dark, snow-covered road just after midnight near Big Bear Lake and died at the hospital.

Alden Park Thayer, an 85-year-old Air Force veteran, a man of faith, and a retired professional baker, died at his Lake Arrowhead home as the snow drifted outside piled up to 10 feet, then 14 feet. His daughter, Lisa Thayer, had sat by his side singing “How Great Thou Art.” The roads were impassable, and emergency officials said it would be a week until they could retrieve his body. So, for the next five days, it lay on a mattress with a pillow and blanket in the garage.

At a City Council meeting this week in Big Bear Lake, city officials said that more than seven feet of snow had fallen there in 15 days. Hospital officials said that “tragedies” had happened because of the weather, citing access to dialysis treatments as a particular concern. Gary DeFrench, a contractor in Crestline, said that one of his neighbours, a woman in her 80s, died last week in her home after a fall and was not found for days.

As the mountain communities brace for yet another storm system, forecasters are warning of floods and widespread downpours. At high elevations, the rain is expected to be absorbed by the snowpack, but the additional weight could pose its own hazards. Already, roofs have collapsed in the area, damaging vacation houses and shutting down some businesses.

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