San Bernardino County officials acknowledged that they were unprepared for the historic back-to-back winter storms that swept through the mountains, leaving many residents stranded for more than a week amid gas leaks and diminishing food supplies.

Snowplows that usually clear the mountain roads were ineffective and now crews are working around the clock to reach the communities that are still snowed in as of Friday.

“When it comes to clearing the roads, I’d say we learned some valuable lessons,” San Bernardino County Fire Chief Dan Munsey said during a joint news conference with state and local officials.

“Unfortunately, the snow came down so quickly and stacked up so quickly those front-end plows that we’re so used to using on a routine basis became ineffective.”

Over the last week, historic levels of snow blanketed the San Bernardino Mountains. Running Springs received 12 feet, Big Bear Lake 11 feet and Lake Arrowhead a little over 9 feet, according to the National Weather Service.

Emergency officials say they did not have the right type of equipment to respond to a blizzard of this size and scope.

[“Unnprepared/what a surprise” seems to be a thing in that state. ~ Beege]