Over the years since 1909, there have been a myriad of fires in the San Bernardino mountains, more than a few of which have threatened Crestline and the Horseshoe Bend community. Several cabins have been lost in recent years. One of these fires, the Panorama Fire of November 1980, burned 23,800 acres before being contained. The final battleground of this horrible fire was Horseshoe Bend Tract cabins #23, #24, and #25 (our cabin). Fire engines were placed between each cabin for a defensive battle. The house of our neighbor to the right as you look down the mountain, Bob Dubell, was used as Command Headquarters as was the Cliff House Restaurant.
A huge 350-year-old pine behind the Dubell cabin, which had survived all previous fires, was now a giant torch. Flames were shooting into the air hundreds of feet. Firefighters said afterward that if the fire had broken through Great View Drive, the entire mountain top would probably have gone up in flames along with our cabin and many others. Fortunately, the wind changed, and the firefighters were able to stop the blaze from advancing further. Only two cabins out of 46 were lost, one at the East end and one at the extreme West end of the HBMC tract. A fire charred stump remains in front of our cabin as a reminder of this fire.
The Horseshoe Bend Mountain Club publicly thanked the County Firefighters for their dedication and service and donated to their organization. A lot of credit for saving the mountain top was given to HBMC for clearing their land in front to the south of their cabins, thus providing a permanent fire break.
The “Old Fire” raged through the San Bernardino Mountains in October of 2003 carving out a dubious place in history as the most devastating fire ever to strike the area. The Old Fire started at the head of Waterman Canyon on Saturday, October 25th. Waterman Canyon is infamous for being ground-zero for many fires in the past, including the Panorama Fire. All told, the Old Fire burned 91,261 acres.
The Loevenguth Family Cabin, No. 25 