I noticed last week while watching the firestorm coverage like so many of you, that surrounding a burned out home of some unlucky person, the trees were brilliant yellow. The fall colors in the mountains prevailed; maple, oak, cottonwood and poplar. The other day I looked up at vivid blue sky and vibrant yellow trees and a magnificent bald eagle circling overhead above the Resort. I don’t think that it was one of our resident eagles George or Gracie as they are usually together. Was it giving us a message? Did the fires over the ridge below us chase it up here? To me he represented hope that we as a community at the top of the mountain would survive, this time.

I ran into firemen from all over the state. The one that touched me the most was from Green Valley Lake. He lives there. His house was spared but many were not. He looked so tired. It always amazes me to see why Mother Nature protects one house and destroys a rash of homes on the same street, the same construction, the same defensible space.

If there is a lesson to be learned from the firestorms it would be to have air tankers, helicopters and the National Guard ready for aerial attack on multiple fires at a moments notice during the Santa Ana season.

We in Big Bear are free of smoke and unsightly damage. The brilliant colors are everywhere. Many resorts are opening their doors to evacuees. When a guest arrives we greet them with smiles and most importantly thanks for returning to the mountains and renewing in us faith that we did not make a mistake in choosing this little bit of Heaven as our home.

Come share the beauty with us during the Thanksgiving holiday. It is a wonderful place to appreciate the necessity to be thankful.

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