The pinkish-red in the trees leading through the windy mountain road could easily be mistaken for the season’s changing leaves – but a closer look reveals the splashes of color on the foliage and roadside are from the flame retardant used by firefighters to keep the quaint mountain towns safe.
A billow of smoke from the Line Fire could still be seen puffing up from the dense green forest in the distance, but a weekend trip to Big Bear revealed clear, blue skies and a tourist town ready to welcome back visitors.
The Line Fire, which authorities allege an arsonist set Sept. 5, was 83% contained by Friday, Sept. 27, with an estimated 39,232 acres of the San Bernardino National Forest burned in the fire that threatened the region’s popular mountain destination. (A flare up over the weekend prompted evacuations to the south of Big Bear at Seven Oaks.)
In the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument near Wrightwood, first responders have contained 97% of the Bridge fire with 54,878 acres burned since Sept. 8.
That fire closed summer activities at Mountain High, canceling a newly planned mountain biking course and nixing plans for an Oktoberfest event at its North Lodge. Uncertainty lingers for the upcoming winter season, with no date set but hopes that normalcy will resume.
“The resort is still assessing the situation but anticipates opening on time for the upcoming season,” its website says.
Other mountain communities are ready to welcome back visitors as fire dangers ease. At Mount Baldy, scenic rides to “Top of the Notch” and hiking trails are back open this weekend.
In Big Bear and Running Springs, residents who evacuated are back in their homes, businesses are open after shuttering during the fire and tourists are starting to trickle back into the towns.
Dan McKernan, director of public relations for Big Bear Lake Oktoberfest, said the popular event that happens each weekend in the fall has been extended into November, due to closures that stalled the start of the event mid-September. There were crowds at this weekend’s event.
“We missed that one weekend, but we are ready to rock and roll,” McKernan said. “During the fire, of course we had a major impact. But we have to do the right thing and stay safe with what the authorities tell us to do. Now that we’re back in business, everything is ready to go.”
Big Bear and other mountain towns are not unfamiliar with uncertainty, regularly facing challenges that come not just with wildfires but snow that when the weather is too harsh can impact roads and travelers’ willingness to trek up the mountain, putting a big dent in the town’s tourism during the money-making winter season.
“Big Bear is a reliant community,” McKernan said. “We’re such a tight-knit community, we always have a way to battle back. The main thing is getting back open for business because Southern California relies on us for their recreation and the great outdoors.”
While Oktoberfest, held at the Convention Center on the east side of town, is the fall season’s big draw, it’s also a good time to see the tree colors turn, smell the crisp, cool air, and the lake is still open for boaters to enjoy, he noted.
A popular highway into town, State Route 330, is shut down from the fires with no word on when it will reopen. City Manager Erik Sund said Friday officials got a tour of the highway with local Caltrans representatives and saw the road and its surrounding infrastructure such as guardrails and traffic signs have been damaged by the blaze.
“The city is confident that Caltrans has prioritized these repairs in lieu of the upcoming winter season. It is the city’s hope that these repairs will be completed by Thanksgiving,” he said. “Keeping in mind, progress is dependent on weather. There are still three ways to get (up) the hill and enjoy the beauty of Big Bear Lake.”
Highway 38 through Redlands, Highway 18 through Crestline or Highway 18 through Lucerne Valley are all open.
At the popular Alpine Slide, assistant general manager Lisa Orabuena said people are starting to come back to town.
“We’re ready to get back to business and things are good,” she said, noting the operations were closed for about 11 days. “The smoke is gone and things are good… the weather is great, the trees are changing, it’s beautiful.”
Assistant operations manager Christian Seward said they are ready to welcome back people with open arms.
“Big Bear is really run on the tourism that comes through,” he said. “We need the people up here.”
A group from San Diego decided to go through with their plans for a vacation earlier in the week, taking a few rides down the windy Alpine Slide and enjoying the quaint shops and restaurants where business owners thanked them for returning.
“I thought there would be more people,” said Shauna Tatum, who was a first-time visitor to Big Bear during a mid-week trip. “The week has been amazing. I had no idea Big Bear was a huge city on top of the mountain.”
Friend Brianna Cram said the fires weren’t going to deter their long-awaited getaway.
“We’re from San Diego, we’re not unfamiliar with fires. We know the drill. We had no reservations whatsoever,” she said. “We want to support the small businesses. You can tell it’s slow up here. We really like the community here, everyone is friendly. We like the small-town vibes.”
Jennifer Hemsley, a bartender at Oakside Restaurant and a resident, said many businesses were forced to shut down or run on a skeleton crew during the evacuation warnings, some restaurants only opening during evening hours.
She recalled a scary fire two years ago that was closer to her home near Bear Mountain and threatened neighborhoods.
She was impressed by the response from firefighters and first responders – including the National Guard – as the latest fire threatened to get closer to the mountain towns.
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Others are also grateful, with signs posted along the highways, outside of shops and in front of the Rim of the World High School thanking firefighters.
Brayan Arreole, an employee at the Big Bear Super Store, said business has been “pretty dead” and worries a long closure of State Route 330 could have dire impacts.
“The fire scared everyone off, they still think it’s smokey up here,” he said. “That main road, that’s what connects us up and down the mountain. If that’s still down by winter, that’s probably not going to be a good thing.”
While most businesses were getting back to their routines by the end of the week, operations at both Snow Valley and Snow Summit – popular mountain biking destinations – were still halted until Friday.
About Big Bear Lake Oktoberfest
Now in its 54th year, the event will be held each weekend through Nov. 3, with three different bands from Germany scheduled to perform.
There are also festive beer gardens, food courts and “cheerful chicken dances,” along with Munich Midway, which features a variety of skill games, inflatables and a mechanical bull. Competitions and contests at Oktoberfest include log sawing and stein holding, as well as children’s fun and games.
The event is held at the Big Bear Lake Convention Center, 42900 Big Bear Blvd. Event times are 1 to 11 p.m. on Saturdays, noon to 6 p.m. Sundays and, through October, from 4 to 11 p.m. on Fridays. More information: BigBearEvents.com.
On Saturday, Snow Summit was able to open for the weekend with all its usual attractions – and expects to again next weekend.
Snow Valley is being used as a base camp for first responders, with tents set up so they can rest between shifts and trailers in the parking serving as command centers.
“We’re just trying to be as amicable and flexible as possible, they are doing us and the rest of the community a great service up here and they put in their time and service to get this thing put out,” said Big Bear Mountain Resort spokesman Justin Kanton.
Snow Valley is not expected to open for the rest of the fall season, he said Friday.
The golf course has reopened, following a brief pause due to air quality. It will open daily through Oct. 27.
“We absolutely want to be open if we can be, we have a dedicated customer base that wants to get up here,” Kanton said. “It’s starting to feel like fall, which is unique in Southern California.”
He hopes State Route 330 can be reopened ahead of the busy winter season.
“We’re hoping they can move on it quickly, if the fire is contained, if it needs to be rebuilt. As we’ve seen in the past, with issues on that stretch of road,” he said, “sometimes it can take a while.”
He asked people be patient and understand the situation.
“It’s not something we’re super stoked about, but we have to also make sure to allow the response teams and the proper authorities who have the boots on the ground to do their jobs,” he said. “There’s no point to reopen to just shut down again. We want to make sure this thing gets fully contained and we’ll get things moving again when it’s safe to do so.”
The key this year is to be flexible, and the people who call the mountain town home know the drill.
“This is 100% part of the gig of living and working in these mountain towns that are heavily relying on tourism and outdoor recreation,” Kanton said. “If it was up to us, all the roads would always be open, it would snow when we want it to snow and there would never be fires.
“Unfortunately, that’s not the world we live in. We have to be flexible and adapt.”
For more information on fire containment, closures and road impacts, go to: inciweb.wildfire.gov.