A group of 600 middle school students were stranded in the San Bernardino mountains over the weekend when one of the most powerful storms to ever hit the Southland snowed them in.
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Originally supposed to return home on Friday, the children with a number of Orange County schools were unable to do so as multiple feet of snow covered the mountain roads, trapping the students and staff members at a number of camps in the area, including the Pali Institute in Running Springs, until Monday.
Students at Turtle Rock, Stone Creek, Cadence Park and Oak Creek were finally reunited with their parents on Monday, after being escorted through the snow-covered mountain roads by California Highway Patrol officials. Each bus was outfitted with chains to ensure safe travels.
Alli West, whose 12-year-old son Fletcher was one of the many stuck at the outdoor camp, said that there were talks of bussing the children home as early as Thursday morning, but instead camp officials decided to hunker down and keep the children safe indoors rather than face the treacherous travel.
West hopes that through it all, her son was a source of support as their family has been displaced multiple times in his young life — by a fire and a flood.
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