Twentynine Palms City Council honors local heroes who helped during recent monsoonal storms

The city of Twentynine Palms is honoring residents who went above and beyond to help their neighbors during monsoon storms that recently hit the area.

"Their commitment, resilience, and exceptional leadership have had a profound impact on the Twentynine Palms community," said Mayor Steven Bilderain. "We were caught off guard with the monsoon, and it flooded some areas, and the people, they city, they all rallied up. Not just the agencies that do all the work on the roads, but the community members came out to help their neighbors.”

The monsoons hit the area in mid-July, leaving some parts of the town underwater after catastrophic flash floods. According to Stone James, the City Manager, officials had little time to prepare.

"We had a nine-percent chance of a rain event," said James. "We had only a six-minute notice when the National Weather Service called and said, 'Hey, we've got a major cell coming your way'.”

The city worked quickly to deploy agencies to help with rescues, resources, and reconstruction. Crews rebuilt several roads and bridges that had been washed away overnight.

"We had the food pantry show up, we had United Way, the County Supervisors Office, County Assessor's office, VOAD, and that doesn't even cover all of them," said James.

But it was the dozens of local heroes who shined in the city's moment of darkness. More than a dozen people were given awards for their selfless actions during the storm, and in its aftermath. Some people stepped up to help clear mud and debris from streets and parking lots.

Other volunteers checked on families who were trapped in their flooded homes. One of those volunteers was Sunny Evans, a Disaster Aid Team Member with the American Red Cross.

“We met people like at Denny's or Taco Bell or at a hotel, and we met them there because we already saw the devastation in their home," said Evans. "Theere were church groups who came, the football team came, and they were dealing with the mud and the sand and moving the furniture. And it was just really a great experience to see the community come into action.”

Another volunteer, Marjorie Smith helped a local military family whose home was damaged.

"I took the children outside to give them some snacks and some goodies, the little four year old looked at the white blankets, and she said, 'Can I touch that?' I said, of course, you can touch that," said Smith. " I told her, 'You can have one," and the both of them took those white blankets, held them next to their bodies, and said, 'I'll never let go this, I'll have this for all my life.'”

Corporal Kentavis Marbuary, a Marine stationed at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, was recognized for his valor. Marbuary put his own life in danger, and used his military training to conduct traffic control to make sure drivers were safe on the road.

"It was like wading through water," said Marbuary. "There was debris everywhere. But boot camp prepares us for stuff like this. We get trained to deal with anything, anywhere at any given time.”

And although they say they are honored for the awards, all of the heroes stepped up to help without a second thought.

"I was not scared at all, I was just, I was just doing my job," said Marbuary. "I didn't really think twice about it. At the end of the day, people are safe and they get to go home to their loved ones.”

Mayor Bilderain says it the actions of the community members that make this resilient city so special. And that's why he wants to make sure the city is taking steps to prepare for the next storm.

"How do we mitigate this next time? What can we do to be really prepared or over prepared, and help people not have this problem again," said Bilderain. "It helped us learn how to be reactive and proactive at the same time, and now we're gonna try to be very proactive for the next season, finish out this season and to be prepared next season.”

If you were affected by the recent monsoonal storms and need help, click here.