When mountain residents realized county resources wouldn't reach them for a week or more, neighbors banded together to help each other out.
Lauren Kruz, who moved from L.A. to Twin Peaks a year and a half ago to “live a simpler life on the mountain,” helped organize the group of local moms, real estate agents, business owners and other locals.
The group, along with the long-running mutual aid group Mountain Area Mutual Aid, pushed information across local Facebook groups, asking what help was needed, collecting donations and setting up times for food distribution, helping to dig people out and drop off medications. They checked on neighbors and called 911 if they couldn’t reach them., San Bernardino County states that “Extreme storms are projected to become more intense and frequent by mid-century as a result of climate change.
Few counties have specific plans to support these populations. The California Foundation for Independent Living Centers has compiled resources through its Disaster Preparedness program. Learn more“We saw seniors trapped in their homes. We saw people unable to access their vehicles and drive on our roads so they could get to doctors appointments, treatments, and access medications,” Kruz said.
In one instance, Kruz and the group of community members secured housing for a 79-year-old woman and 68-year-old man who’d both had their houses damaged during the storm and were staying in a shelter staged at the local high school.— Lauren Kruz, organizer with mutual aid group Operation Mountain Strong
“We neighbors came together when the county wasn't present for the first 10 days. Many people that work for the county don't live on the mountain, so these are people that are coming from down the hill and don't really know what our resources are up here,” Kruz said. “So I was kind of coming in and bridging the gap between the county and our citizens, working with the county to connect with different vacation rental cabin companies, Airbnbs, to just get these people housing.
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