Connect with us

By Press Release

Major progress archived in efforts to report roads.

Published

on

Epic snowplowing

Plowing roads in the wake of the recent mega-storms is a lot more difficult than plowing roads following a typical snow storm. How much more difficult? Watch this video, featuring County Public Works-Special Districts employee Andy Duchateau.

 

A big day on mountain roads

The mountain communities today saw major strides toward returning to normal, with key moments captured in this video.

While the County continued to serve many residents who remained immobilized by record amounts of snowfall, County road-clearing efforts passed the 85-percent mark systemwide. County crews working around the clock achieved 100-percent service in Mt. Baldy, Wrightwood, and Cedarpines Park; 100-percent service on primary roads in Crestline and 50-percent service on secondary roads; and 70-percent service on primary roads in Lake Arrowhead and 50-percent service on secondary roads.

Meanwhile, Caltrans opened up major stretches of highway to residents only with no escorts needed. These openings included State Highway 18 from San Bernardino to Snow Valley, State Highway 330 from Highland to Running Springs, State Highway 38 from Mentone to Big Bear, and the entire lengths of State Routes 189, and 173. State Highway 2 from Big Pines to State Route 138 opened to all traffic on Sunday night.

The County urges residents thinking about returning home to remember:

  • Proof of residency required Proof of residency can be established with a valid government-issued ID that contains a mountain community address. Post office boxes from mountain communities are acceptable. Officials will also accept property tax records and utility bills for mountain properties as proof of residency.
  • Has your street been plowed? Check with the County’s snow removal map.
  • Be prepared to clear your driveway to access to your home.
  • Park in clear areas and do not block snowplow access. Parking violations will be enforced.
  • Many utility workers, road crews, and response teams remain in the area. Please drive with caution!
  • Traffic conditions are continuously monitored and additional closures may be needed.

At this time, friends and family members of mountain residents will not be allowed on the above listed roads at this time. This limited opening will not extend to guests of vacation rental properties.

The decision to allow travel up and down the mountain is at the discretion of the Incident Management Team (IMT). This is a collaborative effort involving many agencies such as County Fire, County Sheriff, CHP, and CalTrans. The County has been advocating for residents to have access once road conditions are deemed safe by the IMT.

For more information on closures and other conditions affecting travel, please check the Caltrans QuickMap website or app.

For other snow guidance from County Public Works, visit our Snow Removal Frequently Asked Questions site.

Food continues to be available at the County’s Commodity Points of Distribution

The County recognizes that food has been hard to come by in our mountain communities. That’s why the County is making free food available to mountain residents at sites in Wrightwood, Running Springs, Blue Jay, Crestline, and the Valley of Enchantment. For details, see the flyer below.

Help mountain residents by donating through the County

San Bernardino County is continuing its coordinated response to the historic snowstorms affecting the county’s mountain communities. We are working to clear roads, expediting the delivery of food and medications to the affected areas, and serving residents stranded at the bottom of the mountain.

Many victims of these storms have been trapped in their homes by the snow, uncertain when a path will be cleared to the nearest grocery store or gas station. While we have made great strides clearing roads and restoring essential services, residents in these mountain communities are now in need of the public’s help to recover from the storms for weeks to come. The following is an example of donations that residents need:

  • Canned goods
  • Non-perishable foods
  • Sanitary Supplies such as toilet paper, diapers, wipes, paper towels
  • Dry goods
  • Baby formula
  • Water

There are two ways to donate:

  1. During the business hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. donors may call our hotline at (909) 387-3911, press option 2, and speak to a live representative that will coordinate your donation.

After the hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., donors may click on the following link: San Bernardino County Storm Response Emergency Donations or scan the QR Code to provide information regarding donations. A County team member will reach out to donors to coordinate next steps if the specific services or items are needed at this time.

  1. Cash donations will be received by the Red Cross. You can help people affected by disasters like storms and countless other crises by making a gift to Red Cross Disaster Relief. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small. Visit redcross.org, call 800-RED-CROSS, or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Please indicate San Bernardino County Storm Disaster Relief.

The need for donations will evolve with the conditions in the mountains. If donors do not receive a response from us, the donation may not be needed at this time.

The County will soon establish locations where mountain residents can access these donations.

Thank you for your support. Together we stand strong.

The Inland Empire Business Journal (IEBJ) is the official business news publication of Southern California’s Inland Empire region - covering San Bernardino & Riverside Counties.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

By Press Release

Newmark Negotiates 864,000-Square-Foot Industrial Lease Renewal in Perris, California

Published

on

Newmark announces the 864,000-square-foot industrial lease renewal with NFI Industries, a supply chain solutions provider, at Perris Distribution Center in Perris, California.

Newmark Executive Managing Directors Mark Kegans, SIOR and Ron Washle, SIOR and Managing Director Dean Washle represented the landlord, Ares Management, formerly known as Black Creek Group.

“Our team was pleased to represent Ares Management in such this substantial lease renewal,” said Kegans. “Perris Distribution Center is in a prime location for logistics and distribution, as evidenced by the location’s top-tier tenant roster.”

Located at 657 Nance Street in Perris, Perris Distribution Center is a two-story cross-dock facility expandable to ±1,137,000 square feet. Building features include approximately 7,000 square feet of office space, minimum 36’ warehouse clearance height, ESFR sprinkler system, LED warehouse lighting, 112 dock-high loading doors and concrete truck courts. The ±43-acre parcel offers 298 auto parking spaces and 224 trailer parking spaces, including an auxiliary parcel to accommodate up to 154 trailer parking spaces or approximately 530 auto parking spaces.

Perris Distribution Center is proximate to Freeway 215, with on and off-ramps at Harley Knox Boulevard to the north and Ramona Expressway to the south. Neighboring industrial tenants include The Home Depot, General Mills, Ross, iHerb, Amazon and Wayfair, to name a few.

The national industrial market has remained resilient despite recent economic and geopolitical headwinds, according to Newmark Research. For the fifth consecutive quarter, national industrial absorption topped 100 million square feet. The persistent imbalance between demand and new deliveries has pushed vacancy down to 3.7%, likely a cyclical low. Demand remains strong for industrial space with absorption continuing to outpace deliveries.

Continue Reading

By Press Release

County prepares for the storms ahead

Published

on

With more rain on the way this weekend and even more next week, County Public Works crews have been busy in the mountains and elsewhere in the county cleaning up from this morning’s rain and preparing flood control facilities for the storms ahead both in the mountains and in recently burned areas.

After having cleared a path through all 500-plus miles of County roads in a little over a week, crews this week have widened nearly every one of those roads to two lanes while also ensuring 150 high-priority culverts were clear. That was not an easy task considering many were hidden by massive snow berms. Crews relied on GIS technology and old photos to find many of the culverts. Public Works teams also cleared out debris basins and made sure channels and other waterways were clear.

County Public Works coordinated with the Rim of the World School District to improve access to bus stops and clear bus routes so mountain schools can return to normal operations. Crews also plowed Rim of the World High School parking lots for students and staff when they return.

Public Works upgraded its GIS map to a Snow Road Widened Status Dashboard so the public can get daily updates on which County and non-County maintained roads have been widened. Also included in the dashboard are resources to find food and supply distribution centers, shelter, and more.

See all of today’s highlights in our daily storm recovery video.

Residents are urged to be prepared and make sure they are signed up for emergency notifications and also download the SB Ready app. Residents can do both on the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District website.

Mountain residents urged to report property damage

Damage estimates are the strongest tool local communities have in convincing state and federal agencies to provide relief. That’s why the County is encouraging mountain property owners to use an online property damage reporting tool developed by the County Fire District to report moderate to major damage to residential and commercial buildings caused by the winter storms.

The information reported by property owners will be part of the total damage estimate provided to the state, which will then decide whether to seek aid from federal agencies such as FEMA.

Property owners seeking to repair or rebuild their storm-damaged structures are eligible for to have up to $500 in County planning and building fees waived thanks to action taken yesterday by the Board of Supervisors. Those looking to rebuild should consult the County’s new Mountain Region Snowstorm Rebuild Questions & Answers document.

Funding approved by the Board is also making is possible for the County to reimburse residents up to $500 toward the cost of removing snow from their property.

A complete list of resources and links is available on the County Snow Information website.

Teamwork frees snowbound mountain residents

Twin Peaks resident Michelle Munoz expresses her gratitude to the members of the Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program who worked diligently to remove the snow that had piled up around her home.

Wrightwood residents reach out to recognize unsung heroes

As the community of Wrightwood recovers from the recent blizzard, it’s important to recognize all of the unsung heroes who went above and beyond to help their neighbors in need.

Laurey Aydelotte, a Wrightwood resident since 2004, reached out to the office of their First District County Supervisor, Col. Paul Cook (Ret.), to praise these community members.

“Friends with snow removal equipment quickly stepped up to help some of our trapped residents,” said Aydelotte. “This included Sadie Albers, John Kearn and Jeremy Norman of Hesperia. Residents were helping each other get food, pick up medicine from various pharmacies, and other essentials.”

Renee Olson, a lifelong Wrightwood resident, echoed Aydelotte’s comments. She and friends Dionne Burns and Julie LaFever enlisted the help of local teens to assist seniors who were unable to clear the large amounts of snow. “There were so many great kids who helped shovel seniors’ driveways throughout the neighborhood: Cade LaFever, Alexia and Sienna Burns, Cameron Coombs, Cash Littlefield, Ethan Olson, and Devun Moore,” said Olson. “I’d also like to recognize Owen Todhunter and the Serrano High School Explorers, who dug out several driveways. It was definitely a group effort!”

Wendi Swanson, another longtime Wrightwood resident, agreed. “Everyone worked together to help seniors on our street, clearing their berm or at least a foot path in case of emergency,” she said. “I know neighbors helped me and I helped them. It was true Wrightwood cohesion.”

Continue Reading

By Press Release

Rebuilt Second Street Bridge Opens in Downtown San Bernardino

Published

on

The City of San Bernardino celebrated the reopening of Second Street between Arrowhead Avenue and Mountain View Avenue on Tuesday, March 14, restoring vehicle and pedestrian traffic to a key downtown corridor. The road had been closed for three years for the demolition and reconstruction of the Second Street Bridge, which passes over Warm Creek and was found to have structural issues in 2020.

At a ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the completion of the bridge, Mayor Helen Tran stated, “I share in the excitement of our residents and businesses in the reopening of Second Street. It is a small bridge, but a big connection point.”

When Caltrans found structural issues with the bridge in March of 2020 and ordered it closed to vehicles and pedestrians, plans were already underway to replace it. In February of 2021, the City awarded a contract to Ortiz Construction to construct a new bridge. Construction began in June of 2021.

“I would often get asked by constituents when Second Street would re-open,” said Council Member Damon Alexander. “We are pleased that today is that day.”

Completion of the project was delayed by over a year due to supply chain issues experienced by both the contractor and Southern California Edison, who needed to construct new electricity connections through the new bridge to downtown San Bernardino.

“This project was the poster child for the supply chain issues experienced at the height of the pandemic,” said San Bernardino Public Works Director Daniel Hernandez. “I’d like to thank our contractors and utility partners for their flexibility and patience with each other.”

The project was further delayed last summer to ensure the existing electricity connection remained in place to meet peak load demand downtown.

The cost to replace the four-lane bridge was just over $3.2 million. Approximately $2.6 million was funded by the City, and $600,000 was funded for project design, inspections, and contingencies by Caltrans.


Note: The individuals in the attached ribbon cutting photo from left to right are Public Works Director Daniel Hernandez, Council Member Damon Alexander, Mayor Helen Tran, Council Member Ben Reynoso, and Assistant City Manager Edelia Eveland.

Continue Reading

Business Journal Newsletter



Advertisement

Trending