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Blog: Fires, Lives And The Almighty Tourist Dollar
By Dave Henderson
Sunday, September 16, 2007
As I write this blog, the Butler 2 fire rages, hundreds of fire fighters and equipment rush to our mountain communities, from as far away as Lake Shasta and Elko, Nevada. The communities of Fawnskin and Green Valley Lake are flanked by fire and far from being out of jeopardy from this 15,000-acre blaze.
The Big Bear Valley relies on only three roadways for emergency evacuation routes off the mountain: highway 18 through Running Springs, highway 18 down to Lucerne Valley and highway 38 through Mentone. Of the three, today, the Running Springs route is closed to all traffic and the fire is burning northeast towards the high desert and highway 18 to Lucerne Valley. If the fire condition changed unexpectedly, it would place this route in jeopardy as well. This would only leave one route for a Big Bear Evacuation.
While covering the news for RIMOFTHEWORLD.net, I observed a phone news interview on one of the Los Angeles news channels with the Mayor of Big Bear Lake. The Mayor stated that Big Bear and the October Fest was still open and promptly invited all of Southern California to come to the mountains and enjoy the celebration. I about fell out of my chair. At first, I thought it may have been my lack of sleep from trying to cover the fire, but no, those around me confirmed what I had just heard.
As a business owner, I fully understand the need to support local businesses and maximize our short tourist season. This however was beyond my comprehension. How could any rational public official invite thousands of tourists into an area that has limited access? How could any rational public official place the tourist dollar above the safety of thousands of residents, fire fighters and other emergency personnel?
At best, this was poor judgment in my opinion. What is more important: tourist dollars or public safety?
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Dave Henderson is the Vice-President of Operations for RIMOFTHEWORLD.net and it's parent company Vicinitas, LLC. Dave is the commercial and operational manager for the site.The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of RIMOFTHEWORLD.net. This column is copyrighted by Dave Henderson.
