San Bernardino County today publicly released an after-action report on the 2023 Winter Storms prepared by an independent consultant hired by the county to ensure an unbiased and fair evaluation of the incident response to the unprecedented snowfall that occurred in late February and early March of last year.
The report details successes and shortcomings in the county’s response. In the 10 months since the storms ended, the county has acted upon many of what would become the report’s key findings and recommendations, putting the county, its partner agencies, and local communities in a much better position to cope with future blizzards and other emergencies.
“The winter storms created a tremendous hardship for many of our mountain residents and businesses,” said Board of Supervisors Chair and Third District Supervisor Dawn Rowe, who directed county staff to prepare the report. “It was important to take a hard public look at how the county performed, particularly where we fell short, and implement improvements.”
The report found that forecasts had predicted only up to five feet of snow, which would have been within the range of the county’s existing snow-clearing equipment. However, roughly 11 feet of snow fell in some densely populated areas. “The sheer extreme nature of the storm was something the area had not experienced since January of 1933, which brought approximately seven feet of snow to the San Bernardino Mountains,” the report states. “Mountain communities faced closed roads, power outages, and lack of fuel.”
Listed among the strengths in the county’s response were the activation of existing emergency plans, the prepositioning of public works resources, partnerships between certain county departments, the initiation of a public hotline, and copious and diverse public information messaging. The report also noted several areas for improvement, including limited resources to clear the record amount of snow that fell and an understaffed County Office of Emergency Services (OES), which created command and coordination challenges.
“Much of what was noted in the report was apparent during the storms, which allowed us to spend the past 10 months putting the county in a position to perform better in the future,” said County Chief Executive Officer Luther Snoke. “The detailed examination of those issues and the professional recommendations contained in the report will serve us well as we further develop and implement improvements.”
In September the county acknowledged the receipt of $2.5 million in state funding facilitated by Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (R-Redlands) and Assemblyman Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale) and quickly invested those dollars in the purchase of heavy equipment designed to clear deep snow. The county has also spent $1 million on snow chains to ensure the county’s existing fleet of loaders and haulers can operate in winter weather and established additional on-call contractors for snow removal services.
Since the 2023 blizzard, OES has been significantly restructured, nearly all vacant positions have been filled, and the county conducted a successful recruitment for a highly qualified OES director – Crisanta Gonzalez, who begins her role with San Bernardino County on Jan. 16. Gonzales most recently served as Emergency Services Manager for the City of Los Angeles.
Going forward, the county is working to provide additional support to OES, which could include the presence of personnel from the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District. This would ensure greater coordination between OES and first-responder incident commanders.
Most visibly, last month the county put disaster readiness front and center by launching Preparedness Starts Here, a website and public awareness campaign to keep residents informed about what the county is doing to keep them safe while providing residents with the tools to prepare themselves and their loved ones for the many disasters to which the county is vulnerable.
“Our goal is to provide our residents with the information and inspiration they need to be prepared and keep themselves safe until help can arrive,” Rowe said.
The program centers on a new county website, prepare.sbcounty.gov, which serves as a hub for disaster resources from the Sheriff’s Department, County Fire, OES, Public Health and Public Works. It includes information and preparedness tools for each type of disaster as well as links to download the SBC Ready smartphone app, sign up for telephone emergency alerts, view weather warnings, and obtain food assistance.
Websites created for and specific to each active emergency can be accessed through the Preparedness Starts Here website, providing up-to-date information on the incident, damage, road conditions, and resources for victims.
The San Bernardino County 2023 Winter Storm After-Action report can be found on the Preparedness Starts Here website.