Kernville to county: Please fix Sierra Way, once a key escape route in case of wildfire
Oct. 15—Kernville resident Michele Vertrees remembers the French fire in the summer of 2021. The escape route between Kernville and Wofford Heights was closed, shutting off westbound Highway 155 toward Glennville and 155 to Lake Isabella.
"There was talk of an evacuation of Kernville," she recalled. "My boyfriend and I were up there."
Rather than wait around for a formal evacuation order, they decided to get out early via Sierra Way, which skirts the back side of Isabella Lake, ultimately connecting with Highway 178 near Weldon.
Fast-forward two years and Sierra Way has been cut in two, not unlike the unfortunate meeting of shovel and snake. Indeed, the road is impassable, and has been for nearly six months thanks to flooding earlier this year, or more precisely, the south fork of the river rerouting itself.
"It got me thinking," Vertrees said.
If Highway 155 is shut down again because of fire or flood or landslides, she said, and Sierra Way remains closed, as it is now, that leaves little choice for getting out of Kernville. And if fire closes the road leading upriver, options for escape could be squeezed off.
"If the county gets a temporary road in there (at Sierra Way) — and I'm not hopeful they can do it in two months — that would still be progress," Vertrees said.
Last month and earlier this month, Vertrees and other Kern River Valley residents reached out to the office of 1st District Kern County Supervisor Phillip Peters, whose district includes the KRV.
Cody Criswell, district director at Peters' office, responded with a lengthy and detailed email, dated Sept. 8. The email has since been shared on social media.
"After the initial damage to Sierra Way, a study was paid for and conducted to determine the adequate solution to avoid this type of damage in the event of another extreme weather event," Criswell wrote.
Out of that study came a recommendation for a "causeway bridge," an "extensive project with construction costs alone estimated at over $40 million," Criswell said in the letter.
"As soon as these results were available, (Kern County) Public Works went on to seek funding through possibly combining grant funds. They were confident they could apply for FEMA funds, but the amount would only cover the cost of repairs to return the road back to its original condition and nowhere near what a causeway bridge would require," the district director continued. "Therefore, they would need to make an effort to seek additional funding and request to combine the funds in order to move forward on a causeway bridge.
"While this would be a permanent long-term solution, our office recognizes the need to have it open and available in the more immediate future. We've asked that plans be brought forward to make immediate repairs that would safely open Sierra Way," he said.
The Californian reached out to Criswell on Friday, but he referred a reporter to a program manager at Public Works. However, no response was received from that source by end of day Friday.
Anita Penniman, who has lived in Kernville for 20 years, is also worried.
"It's scary. I've been prepared to evacuate twice from Kernville," Pennimam recalled.
She knows how it feels when a fast-moving, destructive wildfire is in the area, and you don't know for sure whether it's coming your way.
"It's mostly a safety issue," Penniman said. "I know we chose to live life rural, but the danger of not having Sierra Way open is a real safety concern.
"There has to be a solution," she said.
Peters has included updates in newsletters, and staff has attended numerous community forums and have provided updates at each one, said Criswell, who lives in the KRV.
"We also respond individually to calls and emails and I have made myself personally available for in-person meetings in the KRV numerous times," he wrote.
"Updates have additionally been provided in public board meetings and made available with press releases. Unfortunately, we live in an age of oversaturation of information and we cannot always guarantee the updates will reach everyone, but that is why we make ourselves available to respond to individual inquires."
Vertrees said she is satisfied with Criswell's response, and said it looks to her like the county is moving in the right direction.
She just hopes they hurry.
Steven Mayer can be reached at 661-395-7353.
