By Sunday afternoon, some residents said, drivers who appeared unfamiliar with the area appeared, adding to the chaos.
The Caltrans post came like a victory announcement: After weeks of closures, state highways running throughwould finally reopen at 10 p.m. on Saturday, March 11.
Still, California’s state transportation agency warned anyone driving into the area from out of town that the recovery process was still very much underway. “Terrible idea!!” said another. “People are still trapped in their homes, structures are still collapsing, there is no parking, we’re down to one grocery store. We still have way too much snow. This is not the time to come play.”
Devina Horvath has lived in Crestline since 2019. The environmental consultant had been snowed in with her husband, children and their clutch of dogs and chickens for days before they were finally plowed out. Her town is the first major stop for anyone headed up State Route 18 into the San Bernardino Mountains and west into Lake Arrowhead or Big Bear Lake.
It’s not clear from officials whether there really has been an influx of drivers into Crestline and other mountain towns. And it’s also not clear why Caltrans opened the routes to these communities to all drivers, not just locals with identification or families trying to reach their trapped loved ones. Officials in Caltrans District 8 did not respond to a request for comment Sunday.
Justin Kanton, a spokesman for Big Bear Mountain Resort, said the resort was not putting pressure on officials to reopen the area. He noted that with restaurants and motels closed, there’d be few places for visitors to eat and stay once they get here. San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus said the resorts have been “good partners” in the recovery effort.
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