Mountaineer Progress Newspaper

Look back at Big Pines Recreation Camp
Part IV - Investigation of the Big Pines Fire
Throughout the arson fire investigation, although Ranger Doug Milburn was the supervisor, Ken Harp and he worked as more-or-less equal partners. They directed a Forest Service task force that also included John Bennett (Fire Prevention Technician-Law Enforcement Officer), Ed Bodenlos (Special Agent), and Gene Schmoker, (Fire Prevention Technician).
The Los Angeles County Fire Department arson detail made the determination that the fire was accidental. Eyewitnesses, who included fireman, saw flames coming from the roof in the area of the Swarthout Valley Lodge’s heater unit. The investigator visited the site and was reported to have walked briefly through the burnt-out remains, but never really did any detailed analysis - beyond saying it was the result of a faulty furnace. Voila! Case solved. Or was it? Forest Service Resource Officer Doug Milburn was a little more suspicious of the cause of the fire. Ranger Milburn’s office had been located in the late Swarthout Lodge, and he was aware that even though the building was 60 years old, electrical resources such as the water heater, wiring, and heating system were in perfect working order.
The origin of the fire appeared to have started against a center wall of the upper level of the Swarthout Valley Lodge, which caused great heat to build and spread evenly through the structure. The fire appeared to have been specifically located to cause the desired result of completely destroying the whole building.
The photographs taken by local photographer Dennis Nadalin and Fire Chief Bob Hedden had revealed an even burn. The center portion of the heat was precisely in the center of the building. The upper level collapsed onto the lower level as both south and north exterior walls crashed inward. Based on the behavior of the fire, Ranger Doug Milburn believed it to be the result of someone intentionally setting the fire. The California Fire Marshal’s Officer concurred with Milburn’s findings. However, the Los Angeles County Fire Department arson detail did not. No report was taken by that office.
USFS Ranger Doug Milburn wrote, “As result of his careful screening of the side door area, USFS Fire Prevention Technician (FPT) Gene Schmoker actually found a door hasp with the missing lock that first gave indications of a break-in.” It was a small piece of evidence that experienced arson investigators had earlier missed. It was also proof positive that person(s) unknown unlawfully entered the location to commit larceny.
During the course of the investigation, The USFS Forest Service investigators were told by one of their informants that a person named Mark Hurst had told them he had started the fire by lighting a pile of papers against the wall. Closer observation of the crime scene revealed that the suspect tried to force open the safe in the office area in a quest to find money. The hammer and claw marks on the safe handle gave testament to his failure.
Ranger Milburn also noticed that six sets of old skis were missing, as was his personal briefcase that contained Forest Service tools like a water testing kit, a compass, and surveying kit. Suspicions confirmed, he made this statement to the Antelope Valley Press, “It looks to us as arson because we’ve eliminated almost everything else.” The Forest Service prevention and enforcement investigator added, “I can say it was an incendiary fire. That it was person-caused rather than accidental or mechanical fire.” With the assistance of Ranger Ken Harp, Doug Milburn dug into the arson investigation like a bulldog. Within less than a month, that investigation would lead to a surprising end and the arrest of the bad guy.
One day prior to the arson fire at the Swarthout Lodge-Big Pines Ranger Station, an incident occurred over 35 miles away in Hesperia, CA. Long-time Wrightwood resident Phil Odom was patrolling the street as a deputy sheriff when he observed a thick column of black smoke drifting to the sky. As Deputy Odom approached the location, a car with a single male occupant raced past him away from a van that was fully engulfed with flames! Subsequently, it was learned that Mark S. Hurst had set fire to the van that belonged to his ex-girlfriend. He had threatened to burn the family’s business, “The Sunshine Market,” in nearby Phelan and kill his girlfriend and her family. At the same time Hurst had been a person of interest in several burglaries in the area, where many of the break-ins ended with a fire. Even though the fires were “interesting,” they were handled as accidental fires.
The threats that Hurst made on the family tied him to activities of burglary and arson…a similar method of operation that led to the burning of the Swarthout Lodge. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office contacted Ranger Doug Milburn and said that Mark S. Hurst might be a person of interest in the Big Pines Ranger Station fire.
If Hurst was involved with the fire at Big Pines, there was much to be concerned about. There were several burglaries in the nearby high desert and over 30 fires connected to them. Up to this point, the fires were considered to be accidental. The Big Pines incident drove the fact home that the Phelan fires might have been anything else but accident.
USFS Rangers Doug Milburn and Ken Harp focused their arson investigation on Mark S. Hurst by going after his friends. Wise cop work to be sure. Since there is no honor among thieves, the quickest way to hang a bad guy is to go for his friends. They found two. Milburn used the “tragic card” on Friend Number 1. “That fire burned the oldest building around Big Pines. All that history up in smoke and nothing is left to remind people of the old days,” might have been the way Milburn presented the case to Friend Number 1. “Friend Number 1 was a pretty hard nut, “ Milburn remembers,” while most people seemed to be somewhat afraid of Hurst, this guy didn’t seem to be even a little bit afraid of him.” Perhaps the informant was not concerned about Mark S. Hurst, he was helpful.
Friend Number 1 took the rangers out in the middle of the high desert and showed them where he, Mark Hurst, and another friend  had been stashing stolen goods in a grove of Junipers. Both rangers observed piles and piles of stolen televisions, stereos, and other electronic items that have been stolen in many burglaries in the area. “It is my recollection that it was Friend Number 1 who stated during our interview with him that Hurst may have done it “to get his rocks off.” The El Camino was never tied to Hurst and it is not known if he stuck around very long after he started the fire to view his handiwork,” Milburn concluded. Subsequently, it would be Friend Number 1 who later gave testimony during the preliminary hearing in Victorville.
As the USFS rangers continued to concentrate on Mark S. Hurst’s friend, they found Friend Number 2. “Friend Number 2 was actually easier to sway. He seemed like a pretty good kid who had just gotten caught up into the stuff that Hurst was doing,” shared Ranger Milburn. Detective Snowball set up the polygraph and was present during its execution, as were Ken and me. It was my recollection the Friend Number 2 was probably involved in some of the Phelan burglaries but didn’t seem to know a whole lot about the Big Pines fire. He was never really considered by the DA to be a good witness for trial.”
With the find of the stolen burglary items found in the desert and statements implicating Hurst was committing burglary and the arson of the Swarthout Valley Lodge at Big Pines, there was enough to go for an arrest warrant and soon law buzzards would be circling Hurst’s head.
Bringing in Mark S. Hurst’s head would come from another frontal attack as San Bernardino Deputy Chuck Willis began following footprints from a burglary location in an unrelated burglary investigation. A day after a March 6 resident burglary in Phelan, Willis followed tracks that led to the Sheep Creek residence of Mark S. Hurst. As their investigation continued, Hurst consented to a search of the premises by Deputy Willis, who noticed six pairs of skis and other items that raised his interest. Willis met with other agencies that were investigating Big Pines burglary and arson fire, including Ranger Doug Milburn, and it was determined that there was sufficient reason to search the residence for more evidence. A search warrant was obtained on March 27.
Along with men from the California Department of Forestry, Detective Earl Snowball and Ranger Ken Harp, Deputies Chuck Willis and Mike Jones carried out the conditions of the search warrant. They found items to three separate Phelan burglaries, including the one at Big Pines. In the attic of the home they found and recovered Resource and Protection Officer Doug Milburn’s briefcase and other items that were identified by Milburn as being stolen from Big Pines Ranger Station at the time that the arson fire burned it down.
Over the course of the crime investigation that subsequently resulted in the arrest of Mark S. Hurst, it was revealed that Hurst was sicker than anyone first thought. He did not commit the arson on Swarthout Lodge for revenge; the Big Pines Ranger station had no connection with the family that he swore revenge on. It was not for vandalism, nor was it arson for profit. During the course of the case, it was implicated that Mark S. Hurst did not commit the arson to conceal the crime of burglary. That left only one motive, perhaps the sickest of them all. Hurst committed the arson for excitement; for the sheer jolly of it, something to get his “rocks” off.
On February 10, 1988, in the State of California, the County of Los Angeles, the City of Lancaster Superior Court, Mark S. Hurst met justice. In a moment, the result of that trial......
Mark S, Hurst, 25, of Phelan, California, had pleaded no contest to one count of arson to the February 17, 1987, Swarthout Valley Lodge-Big Pines Ranger Station fire that destroyed the building and its historical contents. The sentence of four years in state prison and a $400,000 fine in restitution was handed down by Lancaster Superior Court Commissioner Victor Leichman on February 10, 1988. Hurst had become suspected in 70 other arson and/or burglaries in the San Bernardino County area......The Swarthout Valley Lodge had been an important part of the early Big Pines Park. It later played an important role of holding both Wrightwood and Big Pines history up until the arson fire of 1987.

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PART V

Odd history of the Zoo at Big Pines

Big Pines Zoo was one of the many attractions of the Big Pines Park. In the book, "Wrightwood and Big Pines," by Pat Krig and Barbara Van Houten, they talk of "the animal park" and say it began in the 1920's and was active into the mid-1930's. Pat Krig, a longtime resident of Wrightwood and one who knew a great deal of history of Wrightwood, described the remains of the Big Pines Zoo. The animal park supposedly had buffalo, elk, deer, bears, reindeer, and smaller animals, including rabbits.

Mr. Terry Graham of the Wrightwood Historical Society did a great job archiving and interpreting old photos and memorabilia to sort out the intriguing history of this area, just west of the Ski Club Lodge.

Closing the Big Pines Zoo

Around 1932, interest in the Animal Park petered off and soon the reindeer and elk were taken from the center. The remaining animals had to transported to the Los Angeles Zoo.

The Park Supervisors decided to contract the hauling of the animals and made a deal with Jim Prince and Frank Bogart to load and take them away.

The two saddle partners, Bogert and Prince, thus began an adventure that only legends can be made of. The boys were both brash young cowboys, convinced they were capable of anything, (and besides, the money was good). As described by Pat Krig: The two saddle partners Bogert and Prince temporarily traded in their horses and took a Model T Ford truck and built a wooden box on the rear. They then constructed a ramp from the beast’s pen. With careful maneuvering and prodding they aligned the buffalo and the truck. They continued to herd and prod the huge animal out of his pen, up the ramp, into the truck. Alas! Mr. Bison simply walked through the front of the box, through the cab of the truck, and over the hood, and on his merry way.

The Great Escape

This was one of the culprits that started a legend that persists today: animals escaped from Big Pines Animal Park. There were many black bears that needed to be caged. It was a sweaty, tiring job of putting each bear in individual cages and became quite a chore. Finally, with cages secured in the bed of the stake side truck, Bogert muscled the vehicle into first gear and exited the opened gate at the entrance of the Animal Park. Stopping at the gate to say a quick 'adios' to the gatekeeper, the gatekeeper told them, "Sure is an interesting way to haul animals." Looking out the windows of the large truck, the two saddle partners saw that most of the black bears decided that they didn't want to go anywhere.

The bears had somehow escaped their cages and were either lunging up the slope or heading straight for their comfortable cages back at the Big Pines animal park! After some time of scrambling around and shooing the troublesome creatures back into their individual cages and loading the truck once again, the trek to the city continued.

Next to go were the American bison. The little spikes and cows were not that hard to load, just a little shove here, a slap in the rear there, and a pile of feed to urge the way. Frank and Jimmy were satisfied with the lot. The only one left to load was the one that the two saddle partners dreaded the most. The bison bull! The shaggy 1600-pound cantankerous ill-mannered bison bull lived up to the reputation of its ancestors of being able to run 40 miles an hour, jump six feet high, and have a general dislike for humans if they were in the wrong place at the wrong time around them. With wild snorting and foam flying from its nostrils and flaring mouth, the two saddle partners had to resort to using whips and slaps and jabs with gun barrels to get the beast loaded. But the bull's disfavor to the situation didn't stop. Savage kicks and head strikes from its massive noggin' began splintering and breaking the stake sides of the transport truck! Frank and Jimmy quickly fixed the stake sides, only to have the bull smash them again! Finally, enough was enough, and the pair tranquillized the bull bison. Without further ado, the last of the zoo animals were taken away...and a padlock locked the gate of the Big Pines Animal Park forever.
Derived from Terry Graham,
Wrightwood, Ca 2008

Frank Bogert and Jimmy Prince transported the remaining zoo animals to their new place of residence in the Griffin Park Zoo in Los Angeles, along with some others housed in the Big Pines Park Animal Park.