Mountain resort hit hard by wildfire threat

Although no flames from the 63,486-acre blaze reached town, the threat and a day of heavy smoke from the fire burning to the northeast dampened a normally vibrant holiday.

"It's sad because this is a totally tourist-driven town," Linda Goldsmith, co-owner of Goldsmith Ski & Snowboard Rental, said Sunday. "This is an important weekend for this valley."

Though she hadn't added up sales receipts, the number of customers and traffic on the road in front of the store were definitely down, Goldsmith said.

Lee Budd, owner of the Fireside Lodge, said the fire threat "absolutely destroyed us." On most Labor Day weekends, the lodge is full, he said. But by Sunday, they were only at 80 percent occupancy.

Firefighters had the blaze contained by Saturday night and officials hoped to have "every spark within 400 feet of the fire lines" controlled by Friday, said Steve Jennison, an information officer with the Washington state Department of Natural Resources, one of the 2,700 firefighters who traveled from across the nation to battle the fire.

Only about 1,194 firefighters remained Sunday night to mop up the blaze, which has cost $9.7 million to suppress.

The blaze was one of seven California wildfires that burned more than 130,000 acres. A 3,500-acre wildfire that began Sunday along the Columbia River gorge forced the evacuation of more than 10 homes. Six other wildfires in Montana, Utah and Idaho were contained last week.

The so-called Willow fire started Aug. 28 near Lake Arrowhead. By Friday, many vacationers had canceled their trips, fearing that a shift in wind could send the blaze into town, forcing evacuations.

But some people held firm.

"We rented a cabin a few weeks ago and kept checking with the place to make sure everything was OK," said Chris Hager, 32, as he relaxed, shirtless, next to Big Bear Lake while his 13-year-old son, Tyler, jammed salmon eggs onto a fishhook.

"It's been perfect," Hager said, although they hadn't caught any fish.

To the west, the resort town of Lake Arrowhead appeared unaffected by the wildfire threat - recreationists packed the south shore Sunday. Kayakers, motor boats and families enjoyed warm, sunny weather at the resort.

"It was scary seeing the huge clouds of smoke earlier this week, but now we're busy, we're real busy," said Amber Ricciardi, a hostess at Garibaldi Grille.

Officials closed all trails and roads in San Bernardino National Forest on the north side of Big Bear Lake for safety reasons. Twelve of the 13 closed campgrounds remained off limits through the weekend. Only one, Holcomb Valley campground, with 17 sites, was reopened.

Many vacationers took to the water instead. Jet Skis and water skiers skipped across the clear blue lake under a cloudless sky. Others visitors headed for slopes on the south side of town, where miles of mountain bike trails weave through tall pines.

But even that business was slow, said David Coker, 19, an employee at Snow Summit Mountain Resort's mountain bike rental center.

"The fire scared away all of our business," Coker said. "On Friday, we're usually really busy, but we only rented six bikes." Rentals rebounded by Saturday and Sunday, he said, when they had all 50 bikes out by midmorning.

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