Yermo Cleanup and Restoration

Yermo is a community in the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County, California. It is 13 miles east of Barstow on Interstate 15, just south of the Calico Mountains, which are about 3 miles from the town. The Yermo Chamber of Commerce designated the town as the "Gateway to the Calicos". As many “Gateway” communities they see a high number of visitors that often cause property damage requiring water damage restoration and fire damage restoration.

Yermo is Spanish for “Wilderness,” which fits the community even now. When it was founded in 1902, its name was “Otis,” a German name that means “wealth” or “wealthy.” The town was near an active silver mine, but it was also popular with tourists who enjoyed the outdoors. In 1952, a business developer purchased the town and renamed it “Yerma” to capitalize on its nearness to mountains.  

Yermo is near the Calico ghost town. The last owner of Calico as a mine was Zenda Mining Company. After building Ghost Town at Knott’s Berry Farm in the 1940s, Walter Knott, his son, Russell, and Paul von Klieben, who was Knott's art director, made a road trip to Calico. The three of them came back filled with enthusiasm. They had already built an imaginary ghost town as a tourist attraction, so they realized that restoring Calico as a real ghost town could be lucrative as well. In 1951, Walter Knott purchased the town of Calico from the Zenda Mining Company and put Paul von Klieben in charge of restoring it to its original condition, referencing old photographs. Calico has been restored to the look of the silver rush era when it flourished, although many original buildings were removed and replaced instead with gingerbread architecture and false façades that tourists would expect to see in a Western-themed town. 

SERVPRO keeps the areas safe from damage by providing water damage restoration and fire damage restoration. Our SERVPRO techs have the most up-to-date training and equipment needed to make fire, smoke, or other damage “Like it never even happened.”