"In the San Bernardino Mountains, another wildfire has forced residents to flee, the latest reminder that they must accept the risks of climate change if they want to remain."
"The snow-blanketed peaks, fishing holes and cool alpine air of the San Bernardino Mountains have beckoned Southern Californians for generations. As far back as the 1880s, travelers braved a 6,000-foot climb in horse-drawn carriages to reach the pine forests that now surround the resort towns of Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear.
High in “the Alps of Southern California,” about 60 miles east of Los Angeles, vacationers would bathe in hot springs, hunt deer, hike to waterfalls and, primarily, escape the troubles of city life. In 1909, The San Bernardino County Sun observed that in the mountains, where the sky is a clear azure and songbirds never quiet, “all is peace and beauty.”
Not so in the 2020s.
The San Bernardino Mountains still draw millions of tourists annually, but the 50,000 full-time residents are increasingly besieged by crises."
Soumya Karlamangla reports for the New York Times September 18, 2024.
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