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Apple season arrives in Oak Glen after Line fire left it untouched

September 23, 2024

“We’re open,” is the message Oak Glen is sending out to Southern California.

The Line fire that has burned through huge swaths of the San Bernardino Mountains since Sept. 5 bypassed the mountain community.

Apple Cider donuts are sold by dozen and half dozen in paper bags after being made fresh throughout the day at Snow-Line Orchard a family run apple farm, winery & cidery in Oak Glen on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
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A rabbit comes out of the brush after the rains at Snow-Line Orchard in Oak Glen on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

A woman carries a basket of freshley picked raspberries as it rain at Snow-Line Orchard a family run apple farm, winery & cidery in Oak Glen on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Local apples are for sale by the bag at Snow-Line Orchard -Farm, Winery, & Cidery- in Oak Glen on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

A Harvest Frostbite in the Backroom at Snow-Line Orchard in Oak Glen on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Toby Cleghorn, 18, fills the donut machine with fresh cider donut bater at Snow-Line Orchard a family run apple farm, winery & cidery in Oak Glen on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Snow-Line Orchard a family run apple farm, winery & cidery in Oak Glen on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Fresh hot apple cider donuts are made and sold at Snow-Line Orchard -Farm, Winery, & Cidery- in Oak Glen on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

A couple enjoy apple cider donuts and fresh apple cider on a bench at Snow-Line Orchard a family run apple farm, winery & cidery in Oak Glen on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Gloves and raspberry baskets at Snow-Line Orchard a family run apple farm, winery & cidery in Oak Glen on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Raspberries are growing and ready for picking at Snow-Line Orchard a family run apple farm, winery & cidery in Oak Glen on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

A couple enjoy kiss outside the store at Snow-Line Orchard a family run apple farm, winery & cidery in Oak Glen on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Under his umbrella Joe Ghariban of Los Angeles picks raspberries in the rain at Snow-Line Orchard a family run apple farm, winery & cidery in Oak Glen on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Linken Delgado, 18, runs the cider donut making machine at Snow-Line Orchard -Farm, Winery, & Cidery- in Oak Glen on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Cider slushies and apple cider donuts are specialties at Snow-Line Orchard a family run apple farm, winery & cidery in Oak Glen on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
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An Apple Spark, half apple cider, half brut sparking wine in the Backroom at Snow-Line Orchard in Oak Glen on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

The Backroom offers wine glasses, wine and fresh drinks at Snow-Line Orchard’s wine tasting room in Oak Glen on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Snow-Line Orchard, Assistant Manager and bar tender, Ryan Tyle, left gets a sample of Hudson’s Sweet Delight, dessert wine for customer Carol Green of Cheyenne, WY in the Backroom at Snow-Line Orchard in Oak Glen on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Apple cider at Snow-Line Orchard a family run apple farm, winery & cidery in Oak Glen on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

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“It really didn’t affect us,” said Michael Hudson, owner of Snow-Line Orchard. “We had a little bit of smoke and ash on the roof.”

Last week’s rain took care of the ash, he said in a phone interview.

Oak Glen is known for its apple orchards. Tourism season begins Labor Day weekend as stone fruits ripen.

But the community hasn’t always been lucky in late summer. The Eldorado fire forced evacuations in September 2020. Two years later, flooding caused evacuation orders for Oak Glen and Forest Falls. Mudslides ravaged Oak Glen Steakhouse, which shut down for repairs until January 2023.

The Line fire slowed tourism, but it’s picking up, according to Hudson. He said this year’s apple crop is good and the u-pick raspberry season will last another two weeks, depending on nature and demand.

Big Bear’s Oktoberfest, which started the same weekend as the Line fire, is also carrying on. The fire, which has consumed nearly 40,000 acres and is currently 67% contained, did not burn into Big Bear Valley, although it limited access to the city.

“We now have so much more to celebrate,” a Facebook post proclaimed last week.

Information: oakglen.net, oakglenorchard.com, bigbearevents.com/oktoberfest

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