SAM Magazine—Wrightwood, Calif., Sept. 13, 2024—Leadership at Mountain High were able to return to the resort over the last two days to start assessing the damage from the Bridge Fire, which moved through the ski area Tuesday night and remains active in Angeles National Forest.Courtesy of Mountain High

Karl Kapuscinski, CEO of California Mountain Resort Company, which owns Mountain High, confirmed to SAM that Mountain High lost one pump house, a patrol building, and several other out-buildings to the fire, but said the resort is still assessing whether there was damage to lifts, snowmaking infrastructure, and other structures. 

"It's still too soon to tell the extent of the damage, and we'll know more when we get essential crews back on Monday, including wire rope and engineer specialists,” he said, having just returned from a site trip to the resort.

The fire threat escalated quickly on Tuesday, said Kapuscinski, who recalled taking a call from Mountain High GM Ben Smith earlier in the day checking in. There were various fires burning in the region, but these were still “a couple of mountain ranges away,” he said, adding, “We were watching things but not overly worried because the reports did not project the path of the fire to head our way.”

An hour later, a giant smoke column—30,000-40,000 feet tall, said Kapuscinski—bloomed and then collapsed, sending embers in all directions for miles, carried by high winds. “That's when I got another call from Ben saying there were suddenly small spotfires throughout the ski resort,” he said. 

Smith, a member of the local fire council, alerted the council to the fire threat on the property. The alert was critical to securing fire suppression support, said Kapuscinski. Due to firefighters working on numerous wildfire fronts, it took them a few hours to relocate to Mountain High. 

"We had the snowmaking turned on to keep the West Resort building and grounds somewhat protected, but then electricity went out," he said. "I remember turning on the webcam and seeing our mountaintop patrol building in flames and thinking, 'This is it. The whole mountain is going to go down.'"  

Much of the resort’s infrastructure appears to have survived intact, though. "At this point, we are confident, weather permitting, we will be open by Thanksgiving," said Kapuscinski, "but it's too soon to tell what 'open' looks like."

The West Resort and snow play operation will open first, he said, but the East Resort still needs to be evaluated. 

Kapuscinski thanked the industry for its support. “I have heard from leaders across the industry, and in particular, I really appreciate all the guidance from John Rice of Sierra-at-Tahoe,” who experienced catastrophic fire damage when the Caldor Fire swept through his ski area in 2021.

“With hindsight,” Kapuscinski added, “I can say, from what we have learned from other operators, we did what we could to be ready. Our team did everything right. 

“What we are reminded of is that Mother Nature can and will throw you curve balls, and even when a threat does not seem to be one, it's better to be overly prepared.” 

John Rice shared Sierra-at-Tahoe’s story with SAM in 2022. The subsequent article and three-part podcast, “Fire on the Mountain,” offer valuable insights into the ski area’s wildfire mitigation and recovery efforts—and the many lessons Rice and his team learned in the lead up and aftermath of the Caldor Fire.