The State : Threat Ends at Big Bear Lake

State officials have dropped their threat to drastically lower the level of Big Bear Lake now that repairs of the recreational area’s 76-year-old dam are nearly complete. State Department of Water Resources officials a year ago ordered that the cracked, 82-foot-high structure be strengthened by Oct. 31 or the lake behind it would be drained. The order followed a determination that a major earthquake could destroy the dam and inundate homes below in San Bernardino. The prospect of losing the lake, which is critical to Big Bear’s economy, spurred local land owners to vote for a local tax assessment district to help raise about $6 million of the $10.8 million needed to rebuild the dam. A state grant of about $5 million was later approved to make up the difference. “The state didn’t give us anything in writing, but we’re on schedule and they don’t see any problems,” said Jere Mitchell, general manager of the Big Bear Municipal Water District, which owns the dam.