The weight of the snow from the blizzard in the San Bernardino Mountains caused many roofs, garages and decks to collapse. As the snow melts, it’s begun to cause water damage to homes and businesses.
Thomas Strong, who’s a Fire Marshall for San Bernardino County, heads the team assessing damage. He says the snow has made it difficult to see what’s happened.
“Normally, we go around and we do the surveys by driving down the neighborhoods and looking for the damage such as in a vegetation, or a wild land fire. Unfortunately, with the amount of snow that the mountains received, we were not able to drive through and do the normal process,” said Strong.
Snow has blocked the roads and made it hard to see what’s damaged beneath it.
The county fire department has created an online form for residents and business owners to report damage.
In the nearly two weeks since it was posted, more than 800 people have responded. Strong’s team then investigates the claims.
Strong estimates it’ll take weeks for the county to understand the extent of the damage.
On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors waived permit fees up to $5000 for mountain residents to rebuild.