Big Bear Pulls Together, Picks Up : Quake: Destruction is more extensive than first believed but few residents would trade life in the mountains for the smoggy flatlands below.

High in the San Bernardino Mountains, where the wind rushes through the valleys in a whispering wash and the sky is a color of blue that city folks in the smoggy flatlands never get to see, a deceptive tranquillity has descended.

Mother Nature has dished out its worst and yet, just a few days after the magnitude 6.5 earthquake rocked the area, boats have returned to the clear waters of Big Bear Lake, the barbecues are out and the sky is as blue as it ever was.

Unlike the residents of the desert thousands of feet below, the people of Big Bear Lake survived the earthquakes with no prolonged loss of essential water, power or telephone service.

But although most residents feel lucky in escaping many of the hardships that tumbled upon the desert dwellers below, they are discovering that they were not as fortunate as they first thought.

City officials said Tuesday that the damage suffered in the earthquake is more extensive than original tallies indicated.

Kate Earley, assistant to the city manager of Big Bear Lake, said that in the last two days inspectors have uncovered an estimated $46 million in damage--far eclipsing the initial $16 million that authorities estimated for the entire quake zone, desert included.

Earley said the city’s preliminary estimate found $25 million in damage to commercial and public buildings, $20 million to homes and $1 million to mobile homes.

Officials have estimated that 2,000 to 2,500 structures in the city suffered some form of damage in the earthquake.

Some of the worst damage was found at the city’s sewage treatment plant. However, because the old facility is still working, sewage treatment has been uninterrupted.

Officials also uncovered new foundation and structural cracks in homes that went unnoticed in their initial survey.

“I would consider the damage extensive, although it didn’t hit every structure,” Earley said. “Much of it is not visually apparent.”

Despite the disheartening discoveries, many residents said the quakes also have brought out the deep sense of community that lured people to this mountain resort town in the first place.

Jim Davis, manager of a small market that suffered fire damage and had all its shelves upended during the series of earthquakes, said the outpouring of help from his neighbors has confirmed all the reasons he decided to move to Big Bear 16 years ago.

Davis moved here from Glendora after falling in love with the mountains on a weekend visit. “I didn’t even know if I could get a job,” said the 47-year-old father of two. “I just made the decision and did it.”

Davis said he returned home and sold his house in Glendora to “the first couple that walked in the door.” He’s been in Big Bear ever since.

His life in the lowlands was marred by hourlong commutes, pea-soup-smoggy days and isolation in the urban sprawl where “nobody has time for anybody.”

Since the quake, Davis said, neighbors from all over have come into the market offering to help pick up cans of food and other items off the floor. Davis has kept the store open because he knows it is needed in the community.

“Customers are coming in like crazy offering to help,” he said. “I’ve never regretted coming up here. I wouldn’t go down that hill for nothing.”