Free Republic

We felt it here in the high desert, north of BBL.

A grizzly bear that appeared in a recent Will Ferrell movie killed a 39-year-old trainer with a bite to his neck Tuesday ... Three experienced handlers ...Rocky is 7 1/2 feet tall, weighs 700 pounds ... Randy Miller also said, "If one of these animals gets a hold of your throat, you're finished,"... "You can train them and use as many safety precautions as you can, but you're still taking a chance if you're putting yourself in contact with them," Richards said. "It's still a wild animal. Even though it may appear that the bear attacked for no reason, there...

A mountain lion killed a goat at a children's camp this weekend near Big Bear Lake, prompting warnings that camp operators should protect their young visitors by securing garbage and small animals. "The problem with this cat is its bold behavior," Brennan said. "It entered a camp and took a goat among 200 sleeping kids." The big cat dragged the goat away from an animal pen to an outdoor amphitheater, where it ate its fill and abandoned the carcass before dawn Sunday at Camp Oakes. The YMCA-owned camp is off Highway 38 about six miles southeast of Big Bear City....

YUCCA VALLEY – It was an eerie scene, one that could have been lifted straight from an old Western movie: Dozens of buildings in historic Pioneertown were reduced to piles of twisted rubble and ash by a wildfire that had roared through the desert town. But, amazingly enough, the buildings that made the town famous, old western-style saloons and storefronts that once were props for movie cowboys like Gene Autry and Roy Rogers, were spared by the flames. When the smoke cleared Wednesday, authorities counted some 30 Pioneertown-area buildings destroyed by the blaze. Not among them, however, were local institutions...

A private plane has crashed in Big Bear Lake and is in the water just beside a road that seperates the main lake from a marsh. The plane is in the water. No word on injuries. Five police police car and three fire engines and one forestry fire engine are on the scene. A medical airlift has taken place in relation to the accident but it is unclear who or how many people have been injured or if there are any fatalities.

State Route 18, particularly what is known as the "back way" into Big Bear is in real bad shape. The back way was real convenient if you live on that side of the mountain but now it is a very, very long drive to get to Big Bear. The back route took you from about 2,500 feet elevation to about 5,500 feet in 15 minutes. It was a steep, winding drive. Now it is a steep, winding wash. CalTrans says they do not know how long it will take to repair the road. That was a road.">