With the road closures and minimal access to a medium girder bridge, residents of Wire Mountain II and Santa Margarita I base housing communities bonded together Monday night to establish a rideshare service by donating their time and vehicles to ensure everyone reached their destinations as easily and safely as possible.

“Last night the rain was coming down hard, and there was still a lot of people that had places they needed to go without a reliable way to get there. People donated their time and cars to go out and help those affected by the sinkholes,” said U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Robert Brewer a firefighter technician with Marine Wing Support Squadron 372, Marine Wing Support Group 37, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.

Individuals like Michelle Perrow, spouse of a U.S. Marine, saw a post on one of the pages she follows on social media exclaiming frustrations. Perrow then decided to go out and help shuttle several families to get to where they needed to go.

“I would hope that if I were ever in a situation like this, someone else would want to help me as well,” said Perrow. “I think it's important to come together at times like this,” said Brewer.

Currently the road is still not open to residents, but emergency vehicles now have access to use the recently constructed bridge. The command established an emergency contract to start construction Wednesday morning. Excess water needed to be removed from under the road before construction efforts could begin. A shuttle service is running from 5 a.m. until midnight from inside the Wire Mountain II & Santa Margarita housing areas as well as for Wire Mountain II & Santa Margarita housing residents on the other side of the temporary medium girder bridge.

For more information and updates on the road closure and shuttle services, visit the online page: https://www.pendleton.marines.mil/About/Base-Information/Road-Closures/