Mt. Lemmon businesses wonder how forest closure will affect them

Forest officials announced this week that they were closing the 2 million-acre forest that surrounds Summerhaven and covers Mount Lemmon and mountain ranges across Southern Arizona because of "unprecedented fire conditions." The exception is Catalina Highway to Summerhaven.

For now, the village's economic lifeline will stay open to the public during daylight hours with severe restrictions: no stops may be made at overlooks, trails or other sites along the highway to Summerhaven, which twists through the Catalinas north of Tucson. The road will be closed at night.

Residents are happy that Summerhaven will be open for business, but nobody is quite sure what that business will be like, said Vic Zimmerman, who owns Mount Lemmon Cookie Cabin, a pizzeria and bakery.

"I've been up here 21 years, and I've never seen a set of circumstances like this," Zimmerman said.

He said the best-case scenario is that, with no stopping until Summerhaven, businesses like his will become the only option for people hoping to spend a day in the mountains.

However, that depends on tourists and others making the trip. "We'll either be inundated or people won't come up at all. It will either be feast or famine," he said.

At Mount Lemmon Ski Valley, manager Graham Davies said he's happy to be open at all. Forest officials initially told him they were going to close the entire Ski Valley complex, which sits on federal land and includes a restaurant, gift store and sweet shop, in addition to scenic ski-lift rides.

However, after discussions with the Forest Service, Davies said Ski Valley will be allowed to stay open as usual, with visitors told to stay close to the property and prohibited from going into the forest.

"I'm extremely relieved. I will be able to sleep tonight," Davies said.

His business is banking on a strong summer after a dismal skiing season that didn't have enough snow.

"It could go either way," Davies said. "It may help because you can either go to Summerhaven or Ski Valley, but it can also hurt because a lot of our customers are hiking or enjoying another part of the mountain."

It may help that the weekly summer concert series, "Music on the Mountain," will continue on schedule, with shows every Sunday through Labor Day, organizers said.

Bob Zimmerman (no relation to Vic Zimmerman), owner of Mount Lemmon Realty, said he thinks the economic impact of the forest closing will be minimal.

"I think it will deter some people coming up here, but the day visitors, I don't think it will affect them as much," he said. "They can't pull off, but they get the scenery on the way up, they get a cup of coffee and then go back to Tucson. That's their outdoor experience."

Whatever the cost to businesses, there is a sense on the mountain that nothing would be worse than a catastrophic fire like the Aspen Fire, which devastated the area in 2003.

"People don't want to be insensitive to (the possibility of) a fire starting. If they close the road, then they'll accept that," Bob Zimmerman said.

Events such as road closures are part of doing business in Summerhaven, and businesses have learned to plan for them, Vic Zimmerman said. "People aren't overly depressed. We're used to going with the flow."

Vic Zimmerman, who lost five cabins in the Aspen Fire, fully supports the decision to close the forest.

"I think their policy is right on," he said. "The risk is too great to not be extremely careful."

Contact reporter Alex Dalenberg at adalenberg@azstarnet.com or 807-8429.