Mammoth Lakes suffers snow removal crisis

Buildings collapse and people evacuate

Mono County is battling a snow-removal crisis. The Eastern Sierra has received record-breaking amounts of precipitation, causing local buildings to give way under the massive weight of accumulated snow. Officials continue to warn property owners to prioritize snow removal as many families are facing evacuation from snow-damaged properties. Additionally, snow removal crews are once again racing to restore road conditions with Mono County contracting outside help to complete the endeavor.

Mono County Emergency Services Director Chris Mokracek says that crews are operating throughout the county and town in order to widen roads and remove snow. “We’re kind of on a storm-halt right now for some activities, especially in the Twin Lakes area because of the avalanche threat, but once the storm moves through, we’ll go in and reevaluate and work will continue,” Mokracek said. He explained that Mono County has been contracting additional workers and equipment, such as dump trucks, loaders, and blowers. According to Mokracek, private contractors have been brought in from across the state to assist in clearing the highways and the streets of Mammoth Lakes. “There

are a total of 80 dump trucks working county-wide,” he said.

Unfortunately, those snow-removal crews are strictly focused on restoring Mono County’s roadways, leaving property owners in a tight spot when it comes to contracting their own snow removal. Mammoth Lakes Town Manager Dan Holler says that the government-contracted snow removal crews do not have the training or equipment to safely remove snow from rooftops or private buildings, so they will be confined to road work. Town officials are urging property owners to perform private snow removal operations or contract with professional workers to get the job done. Not only are property owners paying for these services, they are also required to pay dump fees for the snow once it’s been removed from their properties.

“We don’t have free places to put snow,” Holler said. Mammoth Lakes has two snow storage sites operating when weather allows, one at Snow Creek and one on Forest Service property. But even with both storage sites open, the services are not free. “People are actually working the pit,” Holler said, referring to the snow storage sites. “They’re not out there moving that snow around and ramping it up for free. So everybody’s who’s hauling snow, yes, they do have to pay to dump it,” he said.

Holler explained that it would be difficult for property owners to accomplish snow removal without using contractors to transport and dump it. “You actually have to be licensed and have insurance to be hauling stuff on the roads that way, and also for use in the pit if something was to happen there,” Holler said. “We want people covered since it’s a commercial operation.” According to Holler, the dump fee for the majority of trucks operating in town is $65 for one truck load. In addition to these dump fees, property owners may also have to pay fees required by the companies they’ve contracted to move snow.

While these operations may seem daunting, the consequences of ignoring snow accumulation can be devastating. Many properties have been deemed hazardous in the last few weeks.

“We’ve had more structure failures,” Holler said. The Town of Mammoth Lakes has a color system for marking the hazard level of affected buildings. Mammoth Lakes has had 50 properties marked with red tags, prompting the evacuation of residents. “Red tags mean you need to stay out of the building,” Holler said. “Most of those are in multifamily residential units.”

Additionally, 53 properties have been marked with yellow tags. “Yellow tags mean that there is a portion of the structure that’s unsafe,” Holler said. “It doesn’t mean you have to evacuate your home, just stay out of the area. The stress is there for potential failure.”

Fortunately, 179 properties were marked with green tags, meaning there are no issues with the structure and it has been deemed safe for occupancy.

There are still some resources available for property owners and residents.

“We’ve set up a call center people can call to say, ‘Hey, I’ve seen this on my unit. Is it safe or not?’” Holler said. “What we do is ask some questions and send one of our inspectors to take a harder look at it. And if it’s something that is structural, they’ll tag it,” he said. Concerned citizens may also call the Mono County Sheriff Department to report non-emergency circumstances.

Additionally, the Mammoth Mountain Community Foundation has established an emergency fund to assist local residents and businesses with emergency snow removal needs. Funds are limited and will be directed based on hardship, urgency and need.

Anyone who believes themselves to be in immediate danger is instructed to call emergency services immediately.

IF YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE:

To report structural damage call 760-965-3629.

Mono County Sheriff Department: 760-932-7549

Mammoth Mountain Community Foundation: www.mammothfoundation.org