BIG BEAR MOUNTAIN STORMS AND POST-STORM CONDITIONS
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Big Bear Snow San Bernardino Mountains
TRAVELING – Snowstorms and resulting icy conditions are natural and unavoidable conditions in the Mountains. Preparation for such conditions should be taken very seriously. Some conditions are beyond the control of any Mountain/County service providers and homeowners must be ready for the responsibility of dealing with winter weather when help is unavailable or delayed. Power outages, road closures, and dangerous to impossible driving conditions can be expected when winter storm warnings are in place. PLEASE ALWAYS CHECK ROAD AND WEATHER CONDITIONS BEFORE TRAVELING UP OR DOWN THE MOUNTAIN!! The most up-to-date road conditions can be found by calling the CalTrans hotline at 1 (800) 427-7623 or visiting Roads.dot.ca.gov Whenever possible, delay or avoid travelling in serve weather incidents. Please ALWAYS travel to the mountains with the following, even if road conditions are safe at your time of travel, as the weather can change for the worse very quickly: appropriate AWD or 4WD vehicles with all-terrain tires, tire chains, shovels, flashlights, water, food, warm clothing, boots with chains and charged cellphones.
ICE SAFETY – The freeze-thaw cycle in winter is a very common weather pattern that occurs in our mountains. ICY CONDITIONS OFTEN LAST SEVERAL DAYS OR WEEKS AFTER A STORM. The snow melts in the sun during the day and it freezes back into ice at night. Please take extra precaution when not only driving but WALKING too! Pathways and parking lots are often very slippery. Wearing shoe chains on your snow boots and continually using ice melt for your driveways and walkways is highly recommended.
POWER OUTAGES – Wind and downed trees often also damage power lines, causing power outages with unpredictable durations. Don’t count on your SoCal Edison power as a heat or food preparation source- always have lots of firewood, warm clothes, and blankets, as well as alternative cooking methods for your electric appliances. Many mountain residents also purchase generators.
SNOW REMOVAL – The first pass of the snowplow is made after approximately 3 inches of snow accumulation. It is standard for the plough to go through the middle of the roadways in each neighborhood to ensure that EMERGENCY vehicles (fire trucks and EMT vehicles) can reach homes in case of a medical or fire emergency. In general, snowploughs then leave to make sure other neighborhoods are also safe before returning for their second pass. The plough operators then come back as their schedule permits to clear any drains, widen the roadways, perform cleanup operations, and stack or restack snow. If your neighborhood offers courtesy berm removal, this will be completed LAST and generally takes some time. if you need to be somewhere during or right after a storm, please make proper arrangements and plan accordingly.
- Snowplow operators take their direction from the scope of work outlined in their contracts; please do not stop them to ask for anything, as that only slows them down. They cannot perform special favors outside their specific scope of work approved by the Association.
- Snowplow will not get too close to parked cars to avoid damaging them; therefore, owners may have to shovel out around their cars before driving. Please ask your guests to park accordingly. Vehicles blocking the snowplough will be towed at the owner’s expense.
SNOW BERMS – Snow berms are inconvenient but unavoidable. Some, but not all, communities offer courtesy berm removal. If berm removal is offered in your community, berms are the VERY last thing snow removal contractors do after all the snow has fallen and all the roads are cleared and widened, drains are cleared, and steps are hand shovelled in all of the neighborhoods they service. It is intended to be a courtesy service to the owners, and we ask everyone to be patient after a snowstorm as the detailed work does take time. Please plan your travel accordingly as berms are often not completed until several hours after the roads are cleared.
GATES – If you live in a gated community, prior to the storm the gates will be locked open as necessary for the snowplough operators to complete snow removal and to prevent the gate operators from freezing the gates closed. The gates will be returned to the closed position at the earliest opportunity but depending on the significance of the snow accumulation this is sometimes well after the last snow has fallen.
TRASH SERVICE DELAYS – After a significant storm trash removal is often delayed and, in some cases, even cancelled until the following pick-up week depending on road conditions. Please do not put your cans on the street or overflow trash bins when pick-up is delayed as this creates a sanitation issue. Please ask guests to pack their trash out and store their waste as much as possible until Burrtec can resume service. Vehicles blocking the road or trash enclosures preventing trash removal will be towed at the owner’s expense.
Stay safe and warm!!
