Storm pummels mountain roads, basins; Highway 330 closed

Thursday’s powerful storm brought heavy rain and snow to our local mountains, leaving basins overflowing and leading to the extended closure of a major highway.

Caltrans officials were initially happy that the area around Highway 330 in the San Bernardino Mountains was receiving more snow than rain.

“Unfortunately, SR-330 still suffered significant debris flow in the basins that were recently impacted and cleaned,” Caltrans District 8 posted on Facebook Thursday evening.

The popular route between Highland and Big Bear will remain closed until March 21 for assessment and cleanup “due to the instability and unpredictability of the slopes,” Caltrans said.

Meanwhile, snow flurries also shut down Highway 18 to Crestline Thursday. The closure remained in place until Friday morning when Caltrans announced at 5:30 a.m. that the roadway was open.

Dozens of cars became gridlocked and spun out on the highway leaving emergency responders struggling to access the vehicles. Several vehicles were also involved in a pileup just north of SkyPark at Santa’s Village, freelance media firm OnScene.TV reported.

As for the 330, Caltrans promised that “crews will do all they can to expedite repairs and add mitigation measures to open the route ASAP! We are well aware of the importance of the route to our mountain communities and appreciate your patience and understanding.”