3 people found dead during welfare checks in San Bernardino Mountains after snowstorms

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (KABC) — Weeks after powerful snowstorms pummeled the San Bernardino Mountains, three people have been found dead during welfare checks, authorities said Wednesday.

“The Sheriff Dept continues to conduct numerous well checks. Three people identified as deceased had no indication they are storm related and are being investigated by the coroners office,” the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement to ABC News.

The welfare checks occurred at separate locations in the area. Additional details were not immediately available.

Rare blizzard warnings went into effect in late February in the mountain ranges of Southern California as an arctic air mass plunged down the West Coast, plastering California’s coast ranges and the Sierra Nevada.

In an extremely unusual event, staggering amounts of snow fell in the San Bernardino Mountains and the adjacent San Gabriel Mountains, where thousands of people live or visit communities at high elevations reached by windy, steep highways.

In the aftermath of the storms, residents found themselves unable to leave their homes.

San Bernardino County authorities said the snowfall was so great it exceeded the capability of plows to clear roads, requiring earth-moving equipment and dump trucks to pick up and move snow.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.