Already sitting more than a mile above sea level, Wrightwood, CA offers Mountain High ski resort, close proximity to Mt. Baldy, and about 4,000 hardy full-time residents. So what, exactly, is there to do in this mile-high mountain town when the winter powder melts away? Surprisingly, the answer is: go higher. more ›

The San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner's office has released information about the identity of the snowboarder who crashed and died at Mountain High Dec. 27th, according to the Press-Enterprise. The deceased is Mihail Smetanin, a citizen of Moldova who had been living in Fullerton and was a beginning snowboarder. "He was trying to keep up with some friends down an advanced run called Headwall [...] when he lost control and slid into trees." The coroner reported earlier that Smetanian had not been wearing a helmet. more ›

There might be chaos down here in Los Angeles, but it was the perfect storm for skiers and snowboarders to take to the slopes in Wrightwood at Mountain High, where all three of the resorts had to stop selling admission at 8:30 this morning, just a half hour after the slopes opened for the day's runs. more ›

The 24-year-old snowboarder who crashed and died while on the hills in Wrightwood yesterday "was not wearing a helmet at the time of his fatal accident," according to the Daily News. The coroner revealed today that the Fullerton man, whose name has not yet been released, was snowboarding at the Mountain High Resort Monday with an unprotected head. more ›

To date the Sheep Fire has scorched 7,128 acres in San Bernadino County. Located near Lytle Creek and Wrightwood, the blaze broke out mid-afternoon last Saturday, and has eased towards containment through the week. more ›

Amid cooler weather, firefighters continued to increase containment on the 7,128-acre Sheep Fire today. However, the low-pressure system that brought record lows to Southern California this week is moving out, which will increase temperatures starting tomorrow. Containment, currently at 85 percent, is still expected by Saturday, according to officials tonight. more ›

Officials announced this evening that the Sheep Fire has been 75 percent contained, a major improvement from this morning when it was only listed at 32 percent containment. The size of the blaze is still listed at 7,128 acres. more ›

The Forest Service lifted mandatory evacuations for the Wrightwood area at noon today. The Sheep Fire prompted around 6,000 to 8,000 people to evacuate the area near the San Bernardino National Forest on the San Gabriel Mountains. more ›

As the Sheep Fire in San Bernardino County rages on, officials this afternoon announced that more homes have been lost or damaged, increasing the total to seven residential structures in the Wrightwood area. Mandatory evacuations for some 6,000 to 8,000 people are expected to be lifted by the end of the day. more ›

The Sheep Fire began Saturday and quickly rolled through the western portion of the San Bernardino National Forest in the San Gabriel Mountains, prompting thousands to evacuate as it headed towards Wrightwood. Now 20 percent contained and 7,500 acres in size, firefighters say today's weather should be helpful. more ›

Chances are it didn't rattle you, but there was indeed a small quake, measuring 3.1, registered at 10:27 this morning that was "epicentered 3 miles beneath a site two miles northwest of Wrightwood, either on or very near the San Andreas Fault," according to cbs2.com. So far no reports have surfaced regarding either injuries or damage. Keep up to date with quakes via the USGS's website. more ›

After a fire ripped through the hills above Sierra Madre last month, rain caused a mudslide forcing the closure of two roads while officials urged voluntary evacuations that few took part in. more ›

• To update our avalanche story from yesterday, 3 have now been confirmed dead after the snowy storm struck near the town of Wrightwood in the San Gabriel Mountains. One missing person was located Saturday, after apparently walking out of the snow encrusted mountain. Another missing person was located Friday, but died on Saturday morning.
• Remember when Fred Thompson was running for president and NBC stopped showing re-runs of Law & Order featuring the ex-Senator because of fair election laws? Well, one blogger thinks that USA should stop running episodes of Walker Texas Ranger because of the exposure it gives to Mike Huckabee lover supporter Chuck Norris. He "has gone way beyond what other celebrities like Oprah, Sylvester Stallone or Jon Voight have done."
• Bert Parks never saw this coming, but the format of the Miss America pageant has been changed to reflect the sentiments of a younger generation used to shows like America's Next Top Model and American Idol. Miss America will now basically be a reality show in which organizers hope infuse some much needed life into the boring traditional pageant.
• There is nothing more terrible than losing a son. But finding out through the press that your son is dead, as Heath Ledger's dad did, must have stung like something awful.
• We already know that 9 USC students were arrested on suspicion of public drunkenness this morning, but you might not have heard that 9 men and women were arrested in Pomona today for allegedly advertising sex on the Internet. They were nabbed at a motel by undercover cops. God, when did illicit, dirty, immoral, solicited sex become illegal?
• Though rains pounded the southland into a wet submission the last couple of days, the five inches are just a drop in the bucket as far as our drought is concerned. Or, so says the state agency in charge of water, who fears that people will stop conserving water in the wake of the storm that is supposed to continue off and on through Monday.
• Even though 7 percent of you don't seem to care, 53 percent said Yes on Props 94-97, while 41 percent said No. A harbinger of things to come or an aberration? Ten days to find out.

*UPDATE: Saturday, 2:45 p.m.* more ›

Yes, that was a 4.2 earthquake you felt or dreamt about at 1:53 a.m. A light earthquake occurred at 1:53:43 AM (PDT) on Tuesday, October 16, 2007. The magnitude 4.2 event occurred 5 km (3 miles) N of Wrightwood, CA. The hypocentral depth is 3 km ( 2 miles). The AP reports that "it was not immediately known if the quake had caused any damage or injuries." We don't mean to nag, but here... more ›