This photo from Alleghany excellently defines the experience of being "snowed-in".

Since last week's edition of The Mountain Messenger, weatherwise, little has changed. Every day, more snow arrived to keep all of the communities in the region buried in snow.

But, during this time, much happened to address the many problems caused by the snow storms.

For example, the Office of Emergency Services (OES) for Sierra County opened a warming station at the Downieville Community Hall on Friday, March 3. According to the locals who staffed the facility, Suzanne Smith and David Crosby, slightly more than two hundred people utilized the facility until power was restored to most of the town on Tuesday, March 7. Besides receiving relief from frigid residences dependent upon electricity for heat, visitors were provided with coffee and snacks donated by the Boomtown Lounge and the Cold Rush Coffee Shop. In addition, PG&E delivered pallets of free bottled water, blankets, emergency kits containing snacks...