Idyllwild Gift Shop reopens after truck crashed through storefront

The streets of downtown Idyllwild are starting to feel back to normal after the Cranston Fire devastated more than 13,000 acres.

For Idyllwild Gift Shop owner Rick Shahan, “normal” also means the grand reopening of his downtown shop after a car crashed through the storefront’s glass windows in August.

“We’ve only been open a few hours, but we are open and that’s a huge relief. And, for the town too. Everyone was wondering what was going to become of us, people thought we were going to go out of business,” Shahan said.

An elderly man suffered heart problems behind the wheel, causing him to crash into the store located on one of the town’s busiest main streets. Luckily the man and nearby people were not injured.

The owners and landlord spent weeks repairing broken glass, replacing carpet and moving everything out of the store and back inside during the cleanup. The owners estimated many thousands of dollars were lost in damaged merchandise and construction repairs.

The store, like the community, has bounced back from hardship. Shahan said the community of Idyllwild “supports each other” and has been strong in overcoming the season’s many obstacles, from fires to debris flows to flooding.