San Bernardino National Forest

Two firefighters battling the 2,500-acre Pinnacles fire in the San Bernardino National Forest were injured in a water tender rollover Wednesday. Both were taken to Loma Linda Medical Center, one with minor and the other with moderate injuries, officials said. Cooler temperatures and higher humidity aided 220 firefighters who were trying to keep the blaze from spreading out of the San Bernardino Mountains into faster-burning grass and brush south of Apple Valley and Hesperia.

A wildfire scorched more than 1,000 acres in the San Bernardino National Forest on Friday and prompted the evacuation of more than 1,700 homes, while a second brush fire north of Burbank doubled in size to more than 700 acres less than a day after authorities had announced that it was fully contained.

THE nation's only "children's forest" comprises 3,400 acres of manzanita and pine in the San Bernardino National Forest. An interpretive trail marked by brightly colored hand-made signs points to inventive landmarks -- Pillow Rock ("come and dream while on this rock") or Chipmunk Condo, a tree trunk where five critters once dwelled -- and warnings about the wildlife-squishing consequences of straying from the trail (see below).

A fire ripped across 30 acres in the San Bernardino National Forest on Friday between the resort towns of Big Bear Lake and Lake Arrowhead, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage to homes. Heat lightning flashed above the area, but San Bernardino National Forest spokeswoman Robin Prince said it was unclear whether that sparked the flames. The fire, reported about noon, burned across heavy brush on steep, remote slopes, some of which were charred in 2003.

A man suspected of firing a crossbow bolt into a car, narrowly missing a passenger, was arrested and taken to a hospital for psychological evaluation, officials said. Investigators said Chet Alexander Guerra, 31, would probably be booked on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon when he's released from Arrowhead Regional Medical Center. Guerra argued Wednesday night with two men leaving his father's paintball facility, Redlands police spokesman Carl Baker said.

Regarding "A Line in the Snow" [Feb. 15]: As times and circumstances have changed, activities that were once considered acceptable have been banned because of their deleterious effects. Sheep grazing has been forbidden in the San Bernardino National Forest since the early 1900s. Duck hunting was allowed on Lake Arrowhead until the 1950s. The keeping of pigs in the lower part of Manhattan was outlawed in the 1840s over the strong objections of the poor, who valued the animals for food and garbage disposal.

On a good day, Lytle Creek might attract 10,000 picnickers, RVers, Boy Scouts and day hikers. But in early January, during a brief lull between storms, the popular recreation area in the San Bernardino National Forest wasn't seeing too many guests -- save for an undeterred weekend cave dweller.

Hikers, mountain bikers and hunters who frequent the Angeles National Forest will have to find somewhere else to play. Access to 90% of the forest was closed Monday due to fire threat from extremely dry conditions, U.S. Forest Service officials say. All hiking trails, almost all campgrounds and many picnic areas throughout the forest are shut. Places that remain open are near paved county and state roadways, not the deep backcountry access that recreational users crave.

Forecasters expect mild Santa Ana winds to arrive in the San Bernardino Mountains next week at the height of a fire season that emergency officials fear could be as dangerous as last year's. "Whether the winds are strong or not, they're always a concern this time of year," said Rocky Opliger, deputy chief for fire and aviation management for the San Bernardino National Forest. "Fire has three elements: heat, fuel and oxygen. When you add wind to it, you've basically fueled that fire."