By Cecilia Ponce de Leon
Special to the Alpine Mountaineer
In the mountains, community means more than simply living in the same place. It means looking out for one another, stepping forward when there is a need and remembering the men and women who are there for us on some of our most difficult days.
On Sept. 22, that spirit of community was celebrated when Lake Arrowhead Resort and Spa General Manager Brian McCarly presented a check for $7,125 to Captain Jeremy Pendergraft of Fire Station 91.
The donation came from a simple but heartfelt idea from the Resort’s Bin 189 Restaurant to create a special Station 91 Burger and donate $5 from every burger sold to the Fire Station 91 for their SBCFD Benevolence Fund, which helps support firefighters and their families during times of need. The mountain community responded.
According to Terry Sullivan, director of sales and marketing, Bin 189 sold an incredible 1,425 Station 91 Burgers between February and August. Five dollars at a time, those burgers became a $7,125 contribution to the people who spend their careers protecting ours.
There is special meaning behind supporting Station 91. Located on Highway 173, Station 91 serves the Lake Arrowhead area and is part of the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District’s mountain operations. The station is equipped to respond to the unique emergencies that come with mountain living, including structure and wildland fires, medical emergencies, rescues and severe winter conditions.
Station 91 also carries a piece of Lake Arrowhead history. The building that became the station was originally the old Lake Arrowhead schoolhouse, built in 1926, and became a fire station in 1949. Generations later, firefighters are still responding from that historic location to protect residents, visitors, homes and businesses throughout the community.
For those of us who call the San Bernardino Mountains home, the importance of our firefighters is deeply personal. We live surrounded by magnificent forests and breathtaking scenery, but mountain life also brings realities that can change quickly: wildfire, snowstorms, accidents, medical emergencies and difficult terrain. Earlier this month, San Bernardino County firefighters were among the agencies responding to the MacKay Fire in Lake Arrowhead, where flames from a lumber yard spread into surrounding vegetation and threatened structures before crews stopped the fire’s forward progress.
That is why a fundraiser like this means so much more than the dollar amount on the check. Lake Arrowhead Resort and Spa took something as simple as ordering a burger and turned it into an opportunity to say “thank you.” And 1,425 times, residents and visitors participated.
It is a beautiful reminder that supporting a community doesn’t always require a grand gesture. Sometimes it happens one meal, one customer, one business and one act of generosity at a time.
Thank you to Captain Jeremy Pendergraft and all of our firefighters and first responders. Thank you for answering the call, for protecting our mountain communities and for being there when we need you most.
This is Lake Arrowhead at its best – neighbors, businesses and first responders coming together for the good of the community we all call home.
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