By Scott Limpus
February 15, 2019
Crews across the San Bernardino Mountains took the short break between storms to clean up the mess left behind from Winter Storm Cupid. By Friday afternoon, power had been restored to most of the Southern California Edison customers who had lost power the day before. Bear Valley Electric still has crews working around the clock to restore power to their customers affected by the storm. Throughout most of the mountain communities, flooding had resided, however some local roads still have puddles, causing potentially hazardous conditions. The closure of mountain highways will be the biggest impact to visitors.
As of 4:30 pm, State Route 38 re-opened to residents with proof of residency. CalTrans hopes to have the highway open to all motorist later this evening. State Route 18 remains closed to all traffic from Green Valley Lake to the Big Bear Dam. Crews will work throughout the weekend to make emergency repairs to the sections of the road that was damaged during the storm. The highway is expected to remain closed for at least several days. The only access to Bear Valley for visitors is State Route 18 through Lucerne Valley. Without Holiday traffic and winter weather, the “back way” up to Big Bear is at least a 2-hour detour for most motorist visiting Big Bear on President’s Day Weekend. As of 7:00 pm, only minor delays with no major incidents were reported through Lucerne Valley and the switchbacks between the Mitsubishi Plant and Baldwin Lake.
The closure of SR-18 means that Snow Valley Ski Resort will be closed until the road repairs are completed. Bear Mountain and Snow Summit Ski Resorts are open.
A Winter Weather Advisory and High Wind Warning is in effect most of the weekend across the Mountain. As the sun went down, light snow began to fall. The snow level is expected to drop to 4,000 feet, with 1-2’ of snow possible over the next couple of days. Chain restrictions are in place and motorists are reminded to always carry chains. Blowing snow and ice could make traveling hazardous.
