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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29-OCTOBER 05, 2025
County crews respond to recent heavy rains, mudslides
NO. 243
VOL. 11,
SB County board approves funding for health, homeless services
By Staff
By Staff
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an Bernardino County supervisors Tuesday OK’d funding allocations for programs to support mental health services, housing assistance for residents experiencing homelessness and health care for foster youth. The county Behavioral Health Department has agreed to an approximately $8.5 million contract with Valley Star Behavioral Health Inc. to offer mobile crisis response services effective Oct. 1, 2025, through Sept. 30, 2028. Under the agreement Valley Star and the Behav-
ioral Health Department will provide after-hours crisis support from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. 365 days a year, according to a county statement. Services include telehealth, text and phone-based interventions in the county’s West Valley, Central/East Valley, High Desert, East Desert and Mountain areas. The service aims to support individuals, families and caregivers experiencing mental health emergencies and will be available 365 days a year. Behavioral Health officials anticipate serving
See Funding Page 23 Residents clear debris from a property affected be recent mudslides. | Photo courtesy of San Bernardino County
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evere weather earlier this month due to remnants of Tropical Storm Mario, brought heavy rains, flooding and mudslides to mountain and desert communities, prompting a coordinated response from San Bernardino County departments. A powerful storm Sept. 18 triggered mud and debris flows throughout the El Dorado Fire burn scar in the San Bernardino National Forest, impacting the Oak Glen, Forest Falls, Glass, Seven Oaks and Potato Canyon areas. The debris flows moved across the Yucaipa Ridge area, destroying portions of the ridge and sending mud and debris rushing into the communities below. The storm also caused severe washouts on Highway 38, damaging sections that officials expect to remain closed for months. Rainfall in the desert region also drew flood warnings in Twentynine Palms, Landers, Barstow and Trona. As the storm set in, the county Office of Emergency
Services established an operations center to guide a coordinated response. The county fire department, Cal Fire personnel, the county sheriff’s department along with Emergency Services staff were part of the unified command, supported by the county Public Works Department and state agencies Caltrans and the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. “Once again, our first responders and county departments came together quickly to protect lives, restore access, and support residents in difficult circumstances,” Dawn Rowe, San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors chairman and 3rd District supervisor, said in a statement. “To the families and businesses affected, we stand with you and will continue to advocate for the assistance you need. We thank the public for heeding safety warnings while crews work to restore normalcy to the affected communities.” Rescue and safety operations
As the storm struck, motorists stranded along Highway 38 were rescued by Caltrans, officials said. Firefighters from the county’s Harrison Canyon hand crew shoveled mud and debris from residences in Forest Falls. In Oak Glen, mud and debris blocked multiple roads and creek crossings, according to the county. Residents sheltered in place as safety patrols provided support and Public Works personnel “worked around the clock” to remove debris and restore access to the area for residents and emergency responders. Cleanup and recovery In Forest Falls, slides and blocked roads were reported from Canyon Drive through Slide Creek and Holy Pines, officials said. “Along Highway 38, significant washouts — including one near Hawthorne Creek estimated at 50 feet deep and a quarter mile wide — were See Heavy rains Page 23
documented, with additional washouts near South Fork and North Fork Park under evaluation by Caltrans,” according to a county statement. Public Works road and flood crews are operating extended shifts, with loaders, dump trucks, graders and contract support clearing roads and flood channels, officials said Friday. Valley of the Falls Drive has reopened at an “emergency width,” and Potato Canyon has been cleared to a single lane. Closures will remain in place until work is completed. A total of 19 pieces of heavy equipment have removed over 1,770 cubic yards from the Oak Glen Channel and 3,100 cubic yards from Birch Creek Channel, officials reported. Road Operations workers have removed 1,600 cubic yards of sediment and debris from roadways. Forest Falls has eight pieces of heavy equip-
Presence of invasive fruit fly prompts quarantine in Jurupa, other places By City News Service
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fforts to contain an insect species that’s threatening fruit crops in the Inland Empire prompted the California Department of Food and Agriculture to impose a quarantine to limit the movement of produce in the affected areas, it was announced Thursday. The Oriental fruit fly has surfaced in parts of Jurupa Valley and surrounding communities, according to CDFA. To mitigate chances of the flies turning pervasive and damaging crops, the agency declared a quarantine zone covering a large swath of western Riverside, all of Jurupa Valley, all of Eastvale See Fruit fly Page 24
and the northern half of Norco. The quarantine boundaries extend well into San Bernardino County, encompassing most of Ontario and Rancho Cucamonga. The boundary map is available at the CDFA website via tinyurl.com/42uv5b64. A total of 54 square miles in Riverside County is impacted, while 74 square miles in San Bernardino County is under quarantine. “The Oriental fruit fly is known to target over 230 different fruits, vegetables and plant commodities,” according to CDFA statement. “Important California crops at