On Saturday, November 7 at 11am, the Big Bear City Fire Department responded to numerous 911 reports of a structure fire in the 46000 block of Forest Hill Drive in Lake Williams. As outlined in the agency’s press release: “Upon arrival of fire crews, the structure was fully involved in fire and encroaching to a neighbor’s structure. Fortunately, all of the occupants were able to exit the building to escape any injury. The neighbor’s house to the east suffered damage as well, due to the extensive heat and flames. It took fire crews approximately 15 minutes to control the inferno, with the garage area being the most difficult to extinguish, because of the type of construction and consideration for the safety of the firefighters with potential of roof collapse. San Bernardino County Fire Department investigators were contacted to conduct a fire investigation with Big Bear City Fire investigators. The cause of this devastating fire appears to be hot embers placed on the back porch. Automatic Aid from all fire agencies in the Valley was received: Big Bear Lake Fire Department, Baldwin Lake Fire Department, San Bernardino County Fire Department-Fawnskin, and the U.S. Forest Service. Big Bear City Fire crews remained on the fire scene throughout the night, until about 2am on November 8 to watch for hot spots and monitor the scene.” The Lake Williams home is owned by former zoo curator Don Richardson, though was being rented to another family.
