California has been plunged into a state of emergency as storms cover it in almost 42ft of snow.
Governor Gavin Newsom was forced to take drastic action as a series of extreme weather struck the West Coast burying Southern California's mountain communities and stranding thousands of residents.
Up to 90 million residents have been placed under a freeze warning while dozens have been rescued from their homes by emergency services.
Many have been left to shelter in situ unable to leave their properties.
According to tracking site poweroutage.us, more than 75,000 residents were without power on Thursday morning.
Governor Gavin Newsom confirmed he was working to accelerate the disaster response to try and restore power.
He said: "The state is also contracting with private companies to accelerate snow removal and clear roadways, and is coordinating with investor-owned utilities to rapidly restore power."
Mount Baldy in the San Gabriel Mountains and Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino Mountains, both in California's San Bernardino County, accumulated 106 inches of snow alone.
Over the past week, Palisade Tahoe ski resort in California's Placer County in the Sierra Nevada mountain range got a whopping 146 inches snow or more than 12 feet.
It brings the cumulative total for the season to 500 inches, or nearly 42 feet, making it the snowiest October through February period since 1970.
In Crestline, the entire roof of Goodwin and Sons Market collapsed on Wednesday as safety inspectors were onsite checking up on reported damage.
Officials raced to salvage food that residents desperately need from its shelves.
"We know that roofs are starting to collapse," Dawn Rowe, chair of the county's board of supervisors said.
The state of emergency comes after an 80-year-old woman tragically died after her porch collapsed under the snow, according to CBS News reports.
Neighbours found the woman at her home in Foresthill, California and were able to retrieve her from the heavy snowfall.
Firefighters arrived at the scene but the woman was in cardiac arrest.
Emergency services rushed to her hospital but she later died from her injuries, according to authorities.
The woman, who has not been named, was spotted being rushed out of the home by her neighbours.
Alan Carlson lives on the street where her neighbour died and feared the worse.
He told CBS Sacramento: "We just saw the activity and knew it wasn't good.
'We were just watching all the snow come down and it was just non-stop, and then the paramedics came in, and then a captain right after that."
Mr Carlson admitted since the tragic accident he has dug 3ft of snow in his street as he warned residents to stay say.
He added: "Make sure you shovel, keep the weight off, you know, because this is, we've got a lot of weight."
