Mobile home residents in Bass Lake ordered to evacuate. Snow buildup is ‘threat to life’

An evacuation order for the Sierra Spring Mobile Home Park near Bass Lake was issued Sunday afternoon, with heavy snowfall creating a weight hazard on the roofs of the homes.

Evacuation orders signal an “immediate threat to life,” according to the Madera County Sheriff’s Office.

Residents were under orders to leave immediately and the area was closed to public access. The Sheriff’s Office said that it had not received any reports of people trapped in their homes, but some had been posted on social media. It did confirm a report of an unoccupied collapsed commercial building in Bass Lake.

An evacuation shelter has been set up at the Oakhurst Community Center at 39800 Road 425B.

Snow continues to fall; what’s in forecast?

The area around Bass Lake is expected to get 1 to 2 inches of snow during a winter storm warning that is in effect though 4 a.m. Monday.

Heavy snow is expected in the Sierra Nevada, with accumulations ranging from 12 inches to 3 feet and wind gusts to 70 mph over the crest and exposed ridges.

Travel through the area could be very difficult to impossible, according to the National Weather Service, and wind-chill temperatures as low as 25 degrees below zero could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes.