By Mary-Justine Lanyon
In a special appearance on Zoom at the Jan. 4 meeting of the Lake Arrowhead Municipal Advisory Council, Supervisor Dawn Rowe told her constituents that crime prevention and public safety are at the “top of everyone’s concerns.” She noted she is especially concerned about the recent spate of “smash and grabs.
“We are seeing crime closer to home than we ever thought,” she said.
The board of supervisors has funded Operation Consequences, a $10 million investment by the board to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, to get illegal weapons off the street and to cut down on the fentanyl epidemic.
“The sheriff’s department has done a tremendous job,” Supervisor Rowe said. A Google search of Operation Consequences demonstrates the success of the program; recently the sheriff’s department made 29 felony arrests and seized 66 firearms.
The most rewarding part of her job, the supervisor said, is providing funding to the Rim communities. She was able to donate $50,000 to the senior nutrition program, organized by the Crest Forest Senior Citizens; and $250,000 to the seniors for renovations at Leisure Shores.
Supervisor Rowe thanked Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh and Assemblyman Tom Lackey for the money they were able to appropriate for the purchase of additional snow removal equipment.
“I believe we’re better positioned this year from lessons learned,” Rowe said. “I believe we’re in good shape for this year.”
Officer Ubaldo Gonzalez, the CHP public information officer, gave a report on the two maximum enforcement periods held over the holidays (see the article in this issue). He was pleased to report they collected 1,000 toys for Christmas this year – up from 850 last year – which were donated to local families and organizations like the Boys & Girls Club, Rim Family Services, DOVES and others.
Referring to the first snow that fell on Jan. 3, Officer Gonzalez said that “it’s always fun,” which drew laughter from those in attendance. “It always brings more travelers up here and keeps us busy,” he said. He advised everyone to always carry chains and to increase the distance between vehicles.
And, Officer Gonzalez added, “only use hazard lights when needed.” Section 25251 of the California Vehicle Code allows their use to alert other motorists to hazards, such as rocks in the road.
He then introduced Lt. Nicholas King, the new CHP lieutenant on the mountain. Lt. King noted that former Lt. Napoleon Salais has been promoted to captain and reassigned to the Special Services Unit.
“Snow is not a new thing for me,” Lt. King said, adding he was stationed at the Arrowhead office when he was a sergeant. Illegal parking for snow play, the lieutenant said, “is on everyone’s radar.”
Capt. Craig Harris of the Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Station said they are getting their winter equipment in order and should have their Sno-Cat by the end of the month.
As for crime trends, Capt. Harris said there has been a cluster of vehicle break-ins. “People do their shopping in your car,” he warned, advising everyone to hide their shopping if they have to leave it in the car.
Fentanyl, he said, “is out there. There have been a couple of deaths since the last MAC meeting.” He urged everyone to get their prescription medications from a pharmacy, not from a neighbor.
The sheriff’s department, the captain said, will get $40,000 in special funding to put deputies out in the community to deal with parking and trespassing issues. “The deputies will ride up and down the mountain, writing citations. They go through a couple of ticket books a day.”
In 2023, reported Interim Assistant Chief Joe Barna of County Fire, they responded to 5,323 incidents, 60 percent of which were medical. There were 79 fires or explosions. “That doesn’t account for several hundred calls during Snowmageddon,” Chief Barna said.
County Fire as a whole responded to many more incidents: 134,575, mostly medical. “You’re pioneer people up here so you handle situations yourselves,” he said.
In the last week of December, County Fire responded to a reported structure fire. What they found was a homeless individual had built a shed and used propane, which caught the structure on fire. Unfortunately, the individual perished in the fire.
All agencies are dealing with staffing issues, Lt. King had said, a fact underscored by Battalion Chief Brian Grant of the U.S. Forest Service. “Our staffing is down 50 percent,” he said, so residents may have seen “cover” engines from out of state on the mountain this summer.
The Forest Service is continuing with its defensible space projects. They started burning slash piles that are part of the Grass Valley project a couple of weeks ago. “We just got the most difficult piles done,” Chief Grant said, “right behind houses.”
They are working on the North Arrowhead project, along the north side of Lake Arrowhead, behind Mountains Community Hospital. This project, Grant said, will connect with the Grass Valley project. “Our goal is to have that buffer to stop a fire.”
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