SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - A North Park man returning from the San Bernardino Mountains is recounting his emotional journey helping those digging out from historic snowstorms.
“When I saw those images, my heart broke for every single resident,” said Adam Perruzzi.
For Perruzzi, a native of Maine, the historic snowstorms in the San Bernardino Mountains hit close to his heart.
“Just saw my parents, and other family members, in those people,” said Perruzzi.
Last Monday, Perruzzi, who works in consulting, called San Bernardino County officials and signed up to volunteer.
He packed his ski gear and headed up to the Lake Arrowhead area.
On his first day, he and others shoveled driveways and used off-road rigs to deliver food from a grocery market to snowbound homes.
“Mostly getting to homes with a lot of snow on their roof, but there was a path in front of their door so they could open their door,” said Perruzzi.
In his interactions with those needing help, something remarkable happened.
“Some people said, ‘I have things you can take, like, if you need water to give to the next person, please do it.’ They were really just taking what they needed, and paying it forward if you will,” said Perruzzi.
The next day, Perruzzi spent part of the day shoveling snow off rooftops.
“Very tiring, there wasn’t much time to ‘feel’ along the way,” said Perruzzi.
“It’s a very dense snow and lots of it. It absorbs the rain and eventually, you add too much weight, and the roof starts to crack.”
On his last day, he and others cleared walkways for seniors. On that day, a local senior trying to visit his wife in hospice got tangled in the railing outside his home.
“He was no found until 10 p.m. the next day with very severe frostbite,” said Perruzzi.
From rescues to neighbors and strangers helping each other, it was a mission Perruzzi won't soon forget.
“That's what’s really inspired me, is that everybody is really doing the best that they can,” said Perruzzi.
Perruzzi says as of late last week, there were still thousands of homes with roofs topped with snow, still in need of help.
