Southern California residents struggle to get supplies following record-breaking snow

Large parts of Northern California remain under winter storm warnings Monday night as residents in the southern part of the state are still pleading for help. Many are still stranded following record-breaking snowfall last week.

A long line for free food in Crestline, California, was one symptom of the dwindling supplies in the area.

“We’re stranded,” one resident told CBS News. “We’re imprisoned. We can’t get down.”

Carole Wolfe, a 73-year-old who lives in the area, had to wait three hours for supplies, and they weren’t even for her.

“The neighbors across the street, they have two little kids,” she said. “They need some milk.”

She then still had to make the nearly one-mile trek back to her snow-clogged neighborhood.

Normally, she said, the roads would be plowed within a day. Now, nearly two weeks after the snow began to fall, they are still in bad shape.

San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner Shannon Dicus told residents on Friday, “we’re here for you. We’re going to dig you out. And we are coming.”

But Crestline resident Vanessa Totten said it doesn’t feel that way. 

“It feels like nobody cares about us up there,” she said.

The weight of the snow has caused roofs to collapse, encased entire homes and cars, and cut off power. One woman even gave birth without any medical help during the storm.

Neighbors are continuing to rely on each other until more help can arrive.

And in Northern California, snow halted briefly Monday, but more is expected. An additional one to three feet of snow could accumulate in parts of the state’s Central Valley, according to the National Weather Service. Later in the week, an expected atmospheric river could bring heavy rain, leading to rapid snowmelt and possible flooding, NWS said.

Jonathan Vigliotti

Jonathan Vigliotti is a CBS News correspondent based in Los Angeles. He previously served as a foreign correspondent for the network’s London bureau.