Crestline woman battling cancer missed last 2 chemo treatments due to unplowed roads
Meanwhile, authorities continued work to clear roads and distribute food, water, blankets and more.
CRESTLINE, Calif. (KABC) -- As search crews continue to rescue people stranded in the San Bernardino Mountains, residents could remain trapped in their homes for several more days after the recent snowfall has proved too much to handle for most plows.
The dire situation has filled many people with anxiety and stress, like Mary Duggins of Crestline, who's currently battling cancer and has missed her last two chemotherapy treatments over snow on the roads.
She spoke with Eyewitness News on Sunday and said she'll likely miss her third appointment as her street remains covered in snow and it has yet to be plowed.
"They're unmaintained county roads, and under normal circumstances in the winter time, no, they do not plow our streets," explained Duggins, who said she lives in a special district of the county. "We fully understand that, but being that it's under a state of emergency and a situation ... I assumed that they would send someone out and plow our road."
Duggins said she's been told her options are to hire a private plow company or ask for an evacuation, which could still take days to complete.
"When I did call the emergency number, she asked if I wanted to be evacuated and then they would have someone come and get me and take me down to a shelter ... not at this point," she said. "Again, I was hoping we could have the road plowed and I could keep my appointments, and I'm sure there's a lot of people in that same situation."
Duggins said had she known about the private plow company option, she would've done so a week ago.
"Again, under the circumstances, it never entered our mind that they would tell us, 'No, I'm not plowing your street. Our supervisor told us not to.'"
She said fortunately, her health is doing well, but would like get the road issue resolved so she won't have to miss any more appointments.
"Because literally, on this mountain, there are thousands of people who live on unmaintained county roads," said Duggins.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared states of emergency in 13 counties across the state, including San Bernardino.
On Sunday, authorities continued work to clear roads and distribute food, water and blankets while the Red Cross set up a shelter at a high school.
At a mobile home park in the Valley of Enchantment neighborhood in Crestline, the dense blankets of snow caused several roofs to collapse.
In some cases, some people made their way out of their homes for the very time after spending a week inside. They dug through blockades of snow, begging for help as food and resources start to deplete.
"This place is a disaster zone," said Patricia Derleth, a Crestline resident. "We don't need anybody that doesn't live here. We don't need any Airbnbers, we just don't need that here."
Some could even hear the damage as they shoveled snow out of the way.
"We stayed up all night because we were hearing pops and cracks, and then my stepdad dug out the shed. We worked all day digging out tons and tons of snow," said Danielle Sager.
It also hasn't been easy to drive around as some roads are down to a single lane or narrow streets have limited access.
"It's definitely survival mode," said Derleth. "I had guys on my roof yesterday for 5 1/2 hours, shoveling off 3 1/2 feet of snow."
The system is the latest in a series of winter storms to batter California - the most recent of which slammed the state with as much as 10 feet of snow last week.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
