Snowed-in residents call out elected leaders over storm response: 'They were unprepared'
"I have a 6-year-old and a 4-year-old that I'm responsible for," said one resident. "I am terrified."
GREEN VALLEY LAKE (KABC) -- Each day, countless people in Los Angeles look up at the snowcapped mountains and think of how beautiful they are, but for those living in the mountains; it's an entirely different perspective.
The amount of fear and anger in the mountain communities is second only to the amount of snow there.
"The snow is like 10 ft. high, people are stuck in their homes, it feels apocalyptic out there," said Crystal Nieblas of Green Valley Lake, who's been stuck inside her home for almost two weeks with two young kids, a broken leg and a growing fear that she and her fellow trapped neighbors have been forgotten.
"I have a 6-year-old and a 4-year-old that I'm responsible for," she said. "I am terrified."
READ ALSO | Residents in SoCal mountain community stranded as homes, roads buried in snow
As the days go by, more and more of that anger from residents is being directed at their elected leaders in the county, state and federal governments.
"They were unprepared, completely unprepared," said 54-year-old Jackie Baum, who is currently stranded at her Lake Arrowhead South home.
Her cars are frozen in place so she walks the area to check on older neighbors. She also has plenty of time to stew about the lack of help.
"We were promised the National Guard. All we have seen is people in orange jumpsuits with the words 'P-R-I-S-O-N' on the back of there and I'm pretty sure that's not the National Guard."
U.S. Congressman Jay Obernolte, who represents the snowed-in areas, reassured the community, saying the National Guard is there working. He toured some of the most impacted areas Monday and said "progress is being made, but there is still a long way to go."
"I've seen some of the equipment that they have here. I'm very grateful that they're here in our community, helping us recover," he told Eyewitness News.
Obernolte could not say exactly how many National Guard members are working in the affected area, but said 80% of the mountain roads are now plowed. The rest should be finished in the next couple of days, he said.
He's also pushing President Joe Biden to declare a federal disaster for the area.
"It would allow our residents and small businesses to apply for low-interest loans through the Small Business Administration and it would also get some relief from the IRS by making expenses incurred to recover from the disaster tax deductible," he said.
However, that's "down the road" help.
With some homes still buried, local grocery stores either destroyed or unstocked and access to medications cut-off, residents are scared of what will be found once the snow finally melts.
"You don't want to be afraid that you can't feed your kids. It's frickin' 2023! This is ridiculous! Send us some frickin' help!" said Baum.
Big Bear City received 80 inches of snow over a 7-day stretch, which is the most since these records have been tracked.
Rare blizzard warnings went into effect in late February in the mountain ranges of Southern California as an arctic air mass plunged down the West Coast, plastering California's coast ranges and the Sierra Nevada.
In an extremely unusual event, staggering amounts of snow fell east of Los Angeles in the San Bernardino Mountains and the adjacent San Gabriel Mountains, where thousands of people live or visit communities at high elevations reached by windy, steep highways.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
