Caltrans Reopens Highway 38 to Residents only, Highway 18 Remains Closed near Green Valley Lake.

Update: 3:50 pm CalTrans has re-opened Highway 38 to Residents only.

Original Story

According to a post on CalTrans District 8’s social media, shortly after 2:30 p.m. on Friday, February 15th, Highway 38 was again fully closed. For the majority of the day, access was being granted with proof of residency only to access Forest Falls, Angelus Oaks or Big Bear.

We sent a reporter up Highway 38 just after 2:00 p.m., shortly before the closure, and she compared the sight to a war zone.

Traveling upbound on Highway 38 from Mentone, there is a closure near Bryant Road. CalTrans officials were asking for proof of residency and the representative manning the closure stated clearly that access was only granted to Angelus Oaks residents. The closure at upbound 38 near Angelus Oaks had been removed however and we were able to access Big Bear.

Going from Big Bear downbound, on Highway 38 access is being granted to Lake Williams residents only.

All of this was shortly before 2:30 p.m. and previous to the following social media post:

The expected reopening of this closure by CalTrans is unknown at this time. We are still waiting for more information from their Media Department, however we will update you as soon as we have further information.

Highway 18 going from Running Springs to Big Bear, remains closed. A significant portion of the underlayment for the highway just passed Green Valley Lake Road was significantly washed out yesterday during heavy rains as can be seen in the following video:

Mountain Reporter would like to extend a special thank you to RMG news and Austin Raisbrook for providing that video.

This morning the closure on Highway 18 Northbound from Green Valley Lake was confirmed by California Highway Patrol when they sent out this following message:

Snow Valley Ski Resort remains closed today and unofficial word as of this morning is that three employees remain at the facility. We spoke to one of those employees over the phone who stated that they have food, water, and everything that needed to be comfortable for the duration of their stay. Official word from a Snow Valley representative has not yet been obtained, but as soon as we have information on possible reopening we will update with a future article.

So the current situation as it stands on February 15th at 3:00pm is that the only roadway open to access Big Bear is Highway 18 through Lucerne Valley. There are not any closures reported at this time on this route.

Special note to visitors of the mountain communities. Many have become accustomed to the thought that Highway 330 from Highland actually goes through to Big Bear on a path known as “The front side.” Since Highway 330 currently remains open, this is causing confusion at the front side of the mountain is open to Big Bear. However, it must be clarified that northbound Highway 330 actually ends in Running Springs where Highway 18 continues on to Big Bear.

Red circle icons on the following maps indicate hard closures.

After you pass Running Springs on this route and you arrive at Green Valley Lake Road, the road to Big Bear is closed. There’s no other alternate routes to access Big Bear Valley from this location. The only way to access the Big Bear Valley at this time is to travel through the high desert to Lucerne Valley, then up Highway 18 from there.

At 3:55 p.m. on Friday, Caltrans District 8 released the following press release with a full update on Inland Empire mountain roads:

We will continue watching with a reporter on scene in Lucerne covering the only way up the mountain during this afternoon’s Resort Rush and incoming storm. We will update you on our Facebook page and here at www.MountainReporter.com