Board of Supervisors directs relief for owners of blizzard – damaged property

Mountain property owners looking to rebuild or repair damage wrought by the recent record-setting blizzard are now entitled to some major relief, thanks to action taken today by the Board of Supervisors.

The Board unanimously voted to waive up to $5,000 in County plan review and permit fees for property owners looking to repair or rebuild structures damaged or destroyed by the historic snowfall. The waiver is available for each structure and will be funded by $500,000 of the $10 million Emergency Response Fund the Board created on March 1 to address the impacts of the storm.

“This waiver is important for the recovery of our mountain communities. As our businesses and residents rebuild, we need to ensure that we eliminate as many additional burdens as possible,” said Board of Supervisors Chair Dawn Rowe, whose Third District bore the brunt of the blizzard.

“I’ll keep pushing for additional resources for our mountain residents, who continue to impress me with their courage and resilience,” Rowe said.

The county’s mountain communities received an unprecedented amount of snowfall in a series of storms that began on Feb. 22. Homes, businesses and other structures were damaged by the weight of the snow, which exceeded what they were designed to withstand.

With many assessments still to be made, County inspectors have red-tagged 29 structures as too damaged to be inhabited and yellow-tagged 27 damaged structures, allowing for limited occupancy. These numbers are expected to grow as assessments continue.

The County’s Land Use Services Department has created a Storm Response Team focused on supporting the public in the repair and rebuilding of their structures damaged by the extreme snowstorm event. The team will ensure that the plan review and permit process for impacted residents will be expedited to the fullest extent possible.

The rebuilding waivers approved today are the latest in a series of County relief efforts for the mountain communities. The County is also operating:

• Five Commodity Points of Distribution to provide mountain residents with free food, water and other necessary supplies.
• A donations program to channel relief from donors ranging from national corporations to individuals.
• A prescription delivery program that ensures prescribed medications reach mountain residents who cannot travel to a pharmacy.
• A snow-removal reimbursement program that reimburses residents and businesses up to $500 for the cost of hiring a professional to remove snow from their properties.

Information on these and other programs and everything else related to the blizzard recovery effort is available at https://snowinfo.sbcounty.gov or by calling the County’s Storm Help Line at 909-387-3911.

In other recovery news, three-quarters of primary County-maintained roads and half of the secondary roads have been widened to two lanes. For the latest update on road widening, visit the Snow Road Widening Status dashboard. County crews are also making progress on clearing snow from school bus stops.

See the progress in today’s update video.

Residential and Commercial Building Damage Collection

The San Bernardino County Fire Department is requesting damage reports for residential and commercial buildings that sustained structural damage from the 2023 Winter Storm. If your home or business sustained moderate to major damage, please report damages at https://bit.ly/3LfRmM5.

Mountains in the midst of newest storm, with more to come

Rain is predicted to fall in the county’s mountain and valley communities tonight and tomorrow, with more rain and perhaps snow Saturday through Monday. County crews are working around the clock to prepare flood control facilities such as culverts, debris basins, and channels. Residents are advised to take precautions to protect themselves and their property.

Public Works crews continue to make San Bernardino County storm safe

County Public Works crews continue to work downstream of recent fires prepping for rain.

Watch our crews hard at work servicing storm drains in this video.

Public Works is staffed 24 hours a day and has pre-staged equipment throughout the county. Crews will remain active until the storms move through and roads are clear of snow and potential debris flow.

Residents are encouraged to sign up for the TENS “reverse 911” system and to check our snow information website for the latest local road closures and snow removal status.

New Storm Information Line Telephone Hours

You can call into our Storm Information Line every day from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. at (909) 387-3911. After 9 p.m., please leave a message.

As of today, the call center has received 6,758 calls from residents inquiring about the County’s helpful programs and requesting assistance with various challenges.

For additional information outside of those hours, please visit SnowInfo.SBCounty.gov.