Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/714189
28 nSeptember 2016n www.thunderpress.net THUNDER PRESS by SuperGlide Gail BIG BEAR LAKE, CALIF., JULY 23—It's hot, it's smoky. The Sand Fire has exploded overnight in Santa Clarita in the northwest. Suggestions of thunderstorms will be too far east to help. The fi re is nudging up against the Wildlife Waystation and evacuation of most of the 400 animals began late Friday night and continued throughout the wee morning hours without power. (The following Tuesday they would return safely to the WWS spared by the fl ames.) The sky is clear and warm as I head east towards Big Bear Lake. Fires in our mountains are common, and the animal sanctuaries and zoos face special challenges to protect their animals. I can still see vestiges of the fi re that blackened this area several years ago but Mother Nature has done a fi ne job repairing the damage. Most of the mountain route is green and the trees have fi lled out. With this year's Run for the Grizzlies moved up from its usual September date we may be avoiding chances of rain but riders will have to share the lake's popularity at the height of its summer tourist season. Friends of the Big Bear Alpine Zoo (FOBBAZ, sponsors of this event) supports the zoo through public edu- cation, volunteer support, fundraising, development, and key project fi nancial support. The run has returned to the Bartlett Events Center whose parking lot is near capacity with cars of tour- ists. Sign-ins proceeded quickly with goodie bags distributed containing a T-shirt, pin, carabiner, program and discount coupons for food and drinks. Raffl e prizes and silent auction items are again diverse and plentiful but three bags of the little stuffed bears offered for donations each year were gone in an hour. A large portrait of a grizzly bear is a special silent auction item and coveted by all. Rock music is again provided by local band Damn Good Question as both riders and the general public were invited to browse the many vendors. I've arrived later than usual so I've missed the feeding at the zoo, this year's fi rst stop heading counter- clockwise around the lake. But I have remembered to bring my telephoto lens, the only way to focus beyond the animal-obscuring chain link fencing. But there's good news: the offi cial groundbreaking for the zoo's new location occurred this past May 27 after multiple setbacks, a redesign and location change. The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors approved the fi nal $1.7 million in the 2016–17 fi scal budget to bring the project costs to around $10.4 million and everyone is looking forward to the comple- tion of the new zoo by the winter of 2018. With its more visible relocation at Moonridge Road and Club View Drive, visitors will no longer be sur- prised that Big Bear has a zoo. If you fi nd yourself short on time you could skip the Poker Run (my measly pair of threes were reason enough) and spend a leisurely hour at the zoo checking out your favorite animals and seeing who's new. The Grizzly family arrived in 1996 and their enclosure (built with funds and labor from inland Empire H.O.G.) is near the entrance. Mother bear Tutu had just emerged from a dip in the pond and meandered over to join Ayla and Harley (yawning with abandon as he enjoyed his spot in the sun) in their wallows. I made the mistake of sug- gesting to a group of children gathered at the adjacent coyote cages that if you howled just right you might begin a chain reaction of responses between the coyotes and the wolves. And that's all I heard during my visit, children howling with no cooperation from the canines. The cougar sisters were sleeping peacefully in their double- 21ST ANNUAL RUN FOR THE GRIZZLIES Hanging with friends furry and feathered Presented by Friends of the Big Bear Alpine Zoo A grey wolf is intrigued by the passing human parade The sign says it all!