A handful of locals having lunch at the Mount Baldy Lodge on Tuesday afternoon were startled when someone shouted that the Bridge fire was headed toward the village. But maybe they shouldn’t have been.
One day before, Emergency officials issued an evacuation order Evacuation orders were issued for the village of Mount Baldy and the highway was closed. Residents who remained thought they would have more time to act.
Instead, strong winds fanned the flames, causing them to quickly spread across the countryside several miles away and straight to their community. The fire had now reached the hill above the village, forcing those who had not been able to evacuate to flee.
They rushed to fetch water from a nearby river and a swimming pool. Residents laid a hose line through the lodge’s dining room. Others doused their homes, their neighbors’ homes and trees around the community of about 400 people with water.
No one could sleep from Tuesday night to Wednesday morning as firefighters battled the blaze and locals rushed to save the village.
Mount Baldy Fire Department Assistant Chief Shawn Cate (right) and his team survey damage to homes from the Bridge Fire along Bear Canyon Road.
Residents estimate that despite their efforts, 20 homes were destroyed in the massive fire that in recent days first reached the village of Mount Baldy, which is located in the Angeles National Forest.
“I can just imagine how many houses were here before and where they are now,” one lifelong resident said from inside the lodge on Thursday. Residents have been meeting there in recent days to support each other, have a cup of coffee and express their feelings.
from its start north of Glendora on Sunday afternoonThe Bridge Fire spread through rural areas known for scenic trails and winter resorts, prompting multiple fire and law enforcement agencies to respond. Though its progress slowed as the week went on, by Friday it had burned more than 52,000 acres in San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties, according to official estimates.
In the village of Mount Baldy, the fire destroyed several cabins along the narrow Bear Canyon Road, some built more than 100 years ago.
The Mount Baldy ski lifts are covered in smoke from the Bridge Fire.
“I really felt like I had more time,” said Bruce Bye, 69. He has lived in the community for about 30 years and bought his cabin after retiring seven years ago. He lives in the cabin with his two dogs, Woody and Ozzie.
On Tuesday, his neighbor, David Mix, 50, shouted that the fire was headed toward their homes. Both men suspect they were the last people to leave the valley.
Mix, whose cabin had been in the family since the 1970s, lived there with his wife and two children. They left when evacuation orders were issued earlier this week, but decided to stay put.
“My first memories are of putting my foot in that pine tree,” Mix said while touring the site Thursday.
His voice caught in his throat as he looked at his son’s burned bicycle, then began climbing the charred wooden stairs surrounding his property.
“I’ll be filled with regret,” he said, unsure about his decision to leave as the fire approached.
Paul Faulstich walks among the ruins of his friend David Mix’s property, which was destroyed in the Bridge Fire in Mount Baldy.
“Dave, don’t worry yourself. There’s nothing you could have done here,” said his friend Paul Faulstich, who accompanied him.
Three heavy water hoses hung near the destroyed boat and melted furniture, which could have been used by firefighters. Mix doesn’t understand why emergency crews couldn’t save his home.
That’s when Mount Baldy Assistant Fire Chief Shawn Cate arrived to survey the valley with a group of volunteer firefighters. Mix said he doesn’t blame Cate for the destruction of his home, but he asked who was in charge of coordinating the response to the fire.
Because Mount Baldy is located on the border of Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties and receives wildfire resources from the U.S. Forest Service, it is still unclear what decisions were made by which fire agency when dealing with the many wildfire incidents in the area.
Catt says firefighters were in the village when the fire broke out on Tuesday. His volunteer company was monitoring the fire on the hill outside the village, and by the time firefighters got back to town, they were just a few blocks from the flames.
Mix and Kate hug each other.
A car destroyed in the bridge fire in Mount Baldy stands on Bear Canyon Road.
Later, Kate – who has also lived there for a long time – said it would have been difficult to put out the fire in the narrow valley where the cabins were burning. She did not elaborate.
Locals are concerned that modern building standards will not allow the community to rebuild those homes.
“This fire is really going to change the face of Mount Baldy Village,” said longtime resident Tim Dole, 71, who stayed behind even after evacuation orders were issued. “There are generations of people here that have made this their home. People wanted to stay here and gather whatever resources they could to protect it.”
While it could not be ascertained how many buildings residents had saved, the general feeling was that they could not sit idly by. One resident who identified herself only as Hailey, 34, said her neighbours had soaked her home in water.
“It means a lot to me, and I feel like they saved our community,” he said.
Richard Wismer, 70, president of the Mount Baldy Homeowners Association, stayed to make sure water lines stayed open for firefighters.
“When people lose their home, they lose everything here,” Wismer said.
The canyon walls continued to smolder Thursday morning and power remained out in the village. The area echoed with the steady hum of generators, chirping birds and the bustle of locals traveling in golf carts carrying water, pet food and other supplies.
Mount Baldy Lodge owner Ron Ellingson, 71, and his family have provided a center for the village through good times and bad.
“We used the pool water to soak the front of the lodge,” Ellingson said. “It’s terrible what happened. But we’re still here.”
Locals said their eyes were blurry from lack of sleep and red from the smoke that loomed over the village. They were trying their best to support each other.
A few days after the fire, Mix and Bye met at the lodge for the first time since leaving their home. Bye’s dogs, Woody and Ozzie, watched from outside while the two men embraced each other.
Firefighters from the Mount Baldy Fire Department look at a home that was completely destroyed in the Bridge Fire in Mount Baldy.
“Thanks for the warning the other day,” Bye told Mix.
The two men said something else to each other in low voices, but could say nothing more.
Friends have since started a GoFundMe campaign For a mixed family and for Bye and his dogs.
