San Diego firefighters help snow-hit mountain community

Dozens of firefighters from San Diego County are in the San Bernardino Mountains helping people dig out of a series of violent storms that hit nearly two weeks ago, with more than 8 feet of snow falling in some areas.

Captain Brent Pasqua of the Cal Fire-San Diego County Fire said they responded to a call for help from the San Bernardino County Fire Department.

“They requested our assistance on Wednesday night last week. We were on the road Thursday morning,” he said.

Pasqua said they did not hesitate to gather as many people as possible.

“We sent eight vehicles, several battalion commanders and two manual brigades,” he said.

These are 56 people who work where they are needed. But Pasqua noted that these crews are used to working with fire, not ice. “It’s completely different,” he said. “We’re using a lot of our hand tools that we use when putting out fires, but this time we’re digging and chopping snow instead of cutting the line of fire.”

These hand tools help clear driveway paths and help people get out of homes they were trapped in after the Feb. 22 storm.

Pasqua said the situation is getting more desperate every day and people are running out of food. He said that when they see the Cal Fire San Diego crews, they breathe a sigh of relief and are very grateful.

“Many of them are very elderly, so any help they can get goes a long way,” he said. “They’re just so grateful to see someone after all this time.”

Pasqua said the story closest to him is one of how one of their crews helped a stranded family with a child.

“(Firefighters) had to go around with diapers and baby food and food and water for the family they couldn’t clear the driveway… so they had to bring supplies for the family,” he said. “I myself have children, I could not imagine that I would be stuck in the snow like this.”

Pasqua said firefighters in San Diego are working overtime to replace those in the mountains. He also noted that after nearly two weeks, rescuers know they are at a point where the situation could become tragic, but he said they will stay there until the job is done.

“You don’t want to lose hope because then you don’t feel like you’re giving it your all,” he said. “You have to have that little hope somewhere. That’s where you dig deep, and that’s where you’ll find this wonder. That’s what we cling to.”