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Wrightwood CSD: 799 families, 1,850 people served during eight‑day flood response; officials outline recovery steps
Summary
Officials and volunteers described Wrightwood’s emergency response after recent flooding: the community center hosted a local assistance shuttle to Hesperia, staff reported 799 families and 1,850 individuals were served, and OES said initial damage assessments are under way to determine FEMA eligibility.
Wrightwood Community Services District officials reported that the community center served 799 families—about 1,850 individuals—during an eight‑day emergency‑response period after December flooding, and outlined next steps to seek state and federal assistance.
General Manager Ramona summarized the response and recovery work, saying staff and volunteers used the community center as an operations hub. "We had sign in sheets each day: 799 families, 1,850 different individuals were serviced in this building over the 8 day period," she said. Ramona said the center typically saw roughly 250–300 people per day during that period.
Eric from the Office of Emergency Services said the response is now in the recovery phase and that initial damage assessments are underway to meet FEMA thresholds. "We are currently in recovery," he said, and urged anyone with financial harm or damage to visit the Local Assistance Center at the Rick Novak Center in Hesperia, open Thursday–Friday 10 a.m.–8 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m.–4 p.m.; shuttle service will run from the community center.
Fire Battalion Commander Steve Tracy, who served as incident commander during the storm, thanked the CSD for providing facilities and called the community’s cooperation "awesome." Detective Thomas Bechtel reported flood‑related calls dominated recent service requests and said only two criminal reports resulted from the period.
Volunteers and local groups also played a major role. Stretch Suba, the CERT point of contact, thanked staff and described a volunteer mobilization coordinated by Robert Deaver of Fort Irwin that could bring about 100 volunteers to assist residents with mud removal and other cleanup tasks.
The CSD said it will produce an after‑action report with recommendations and urged residents who may have been missed by initial assessments to contact the OES liaison assigned to Wrightwood. The immediate priorities remain completing damage assessments, compiling financial loss and lost‑revenue information, and preparing documentation needed to pursue federal assistance.
Next steps: the OES liaison will continue on‑site coordination through the volunteer weekend and staff will compile an after‑action report to recommend operational improvements.
