It is too early to predict, Markham said, whether Caltrans might have to close the highway during the winter months due to weather conditions or flooding.
Newcomb’s Ranch, a restaurant and bar located 27 miles up Angeles Crest Highway, is a popular stop for hikers and skiers making their way through the Angeles National Forest. General manager Susan Choi said the business sits on a 10-acre parcel of land, and that the Station fire burned right up to the property line. Los Angeles County firefighters ringed the property and protected it, she said.
“Since the Station fire broke out, we are like an oasis in the desert,” Choi said. “All of Highway 2 is burned, but it is green just around our area.”
The restaurant is typically open year round, Choi said, but has remained closed due to the closure of the highway. Choi declined to comment on how much revenue has been lost as a result of the forced closure, but said she and her staff are readying for an influx of people during the winter months.
Rick Metcalf, who heads a group of investors who purchased Mt. Waterman ski resort in 2006, said the mountain and its three chair lifts were left untouched by the fire.
“The fire got to the back side of Devil’s Canyon,” Metcalf said. “It didn’t get anywhere near the mountain. Being up at Mt. Waterman, you would never know there was a fire. The mountain is still as beautiful and pristine as ever.”
Metcalf, who grew up in La Cañada but now lives in San Diego, said because the resort typically opens in December or January, business has not yet been negatively impacted by the closure of Angeles Crest Highway. Metcalf was at Mt. Waterman on Monday to oversee the chair lift certification, and said that the resort will be up and operational in time for the ski season.
“It is the same old Mt. Waterman,” Metcalf said. “We have revamped the whole hill, it is in great shape. We have had two wonderful seasons so far and we are looking forward to another one.”
