Campers DO cause wildfires.
(scroll down there are many examples)
Fire Season 2010 is upon us. Below is a picture sent in by a concerned citizen. Picture was taken Memorial Day 2010 at Malibu Creek State Park.
I was at MCSP on Memorial Day this past Monday. I have a photo of people cooking right by the "not permitted to cook or light fires in this area" - how do they manage to get away with this ? Is there no supervision that the rules are obeyed because the sign by the entrance of the trail says that one can get arrested for this.
Skellytm Rucky (see update below)
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Update June 8 2010: Ron Schafer [District Superintendent, California State Parks, Angeles District]
conscientiously investigated the above picture and found the sign had been placed in the wrong area. The problem has been corrected. The sign was intended to inform park patrons that BBQ's are prohibited from backcountry areas of Malibu Creek State park. BBQ's in picnic areas are permitted.
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“We are opposed to any new campgrounds, hike in camps, trail camps or large group gatherings in very high fire risk areas.”
P Michael Freeman, Los Angeles Fire Chief
Click here for source of quote. More details available at: www.safecanyons.com
Even excellent brush clearance didn't save this home. Smith Residence, Corral Canyon Malibu
This
website might help you prepare for the next wildfire. It was started by a guy who lost his home in the
Corral Canyon fire.
Click here to see pictures of his house.
Inside Malibu Creek State Park the Ronald Reagan Equestrian Campground and RV park (with 31 fire pits) is to be built in the middle of a state designated very high fire hazard severity zone just upwind from the above picture. Click here to see the official fire hazard zone map.
Click here for Corral Canyon fire videos
The Corral Canyon fire started inside poorly supervised Malibu Creek State Park.
Feb 26, 2009 ... Armed with before-and-after photos of their torched homes and lost pets, nearly 30 Corral Canyon Fire victims showed up in court last ...
Choppers in Malibou Lake fight fire started by people in poorly supervised Malibu Creek State Park.
Los Angeles Fire Chief P. Michael Freeman stressed that an outbreak of wildfires is not a question of if, but when. He said LAFD continues to prepare, plan and educate members of the community with fire season now being year-round. Source: Malibu Times 11 Nov 2009
"How much building are we going to allow to be done up against tinder-dry hillsides?" Sen. Dianne Feinstein
"There's a legitimate issue in how much development you want to allow in fire-danger areas." Zev Yaroslavsky
Click here for source of these two quotes. The article discusses new construction in high fire danger areas. The Reagan Equestrian Campground which includes fire pits, is planned to be built in a high fire danger area with little buffer between it and surrounding communities.
The Reagan Campground Plan suggests we mass vegetation at the site to protect the viewshed. Does this sound like a good idea to you?
Many more examples of fires started by careless campers below.
Dire forecast for fire season in the WestSan Francisco Chronicle - Jul 29, 2009
... majority of wildfires are caused by human activity, sparked by careless campers, ... Lightning causes roughly 5 percent of the wildfires in the agency's ...
Put fires out, campers reminded
CBC.ca - Jul 31, 2009
Anastasia Drummond, a wildfire information officer with Sustainable Resource Development, said wildfires can start when campers don't ensure their campfires ...
California battles 3 wildfires.Free with registration - UPI NewsTrack - AccessMyLibrary.com - Aug 29, 2005
... say the blaze was started accidentally Friday by three careless campers. ... a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. ...
Careless campers fire cause .Spokane Chronicle - Google News Archive - Jul 23, 1986
Dale Jarrell, Sawtooth fire man agement officer, said seven of the forest's 12 fires have been the re sult of carelessness by campers. ...
Campers Start 2 Fires .Arlington Times - Google News Archive - Aug 21, 1958
Two fires started from camp fires that were not put out com pletely were extinguished by Forest Service employees this past week, one at White Pass and the ...
U. researcher homes in on wildfire predictionDeseret News - Jul 2, 2007
... according to a new method of predicting when the worst wildfires start in that region. ... careless campers and other causes frequently get fires going
Southeast forest fires tied to arson .St. Petersburg Times - Google News Archive - Apr 6, 1978
ATLANTA Many of the hundreds of- wildfires burning across the tinder-dry Southeast ... Some developed from careless campers and some were deliberately set,
CAMPERS' FIRES SPREAD, BURN 550 ACRES IN CANYONPay-Per-View - Orlando Sentinel - ProQuest Archiver - Nov 30, 1991
Wind-whipped flames that were ignited by careless campers charred about 550 acres of brush in the San Fernando Valley on Friday, authorities said. ...
Pay-Per-View - Los Angeles Times - ProQuest Archiver - May 10, 1968
... but we tend to be very lenient on those who start fires accidentally. ... burn each year because of careless campers than are deliberately set by ar- ." ...
FIRES SINGE SOUTHWEST ONE FULL MONTH BEFORE THE WILDFIRE …Pay-Per-View - Chicago Tribune - ProQuest Archiver - May 23, 1996
Arriving early and with unusual intensity, wildfires have returned to the ... was believed to have been accidentally started by a group of young campers. ...
Accidental wildfires draw aggressive prosecutions; Authorities …Pay-Per-View - Los Angeles Times - ProQuest Archiver - Dec 2, 2007
Law enforcement officials say they are obligated to hold those who start fires ... of recklessly starting the wildfire by burning debris near his campsite. ...
FIRES THREATEN STATE'S FORESTS; Governor Weighs Order Closing …$3.95 - New York Times - Apr 21, 1976
Earlier in the week, Mr. Gumming said that most of the fires had been started by arsonists and others by careless campers. The Kittatinny blaze was believed ...
Weather Aids Effort to Contain Colo. Wildfires; Spring Drought...
Pay-Per-View - Washington Post - ProQuest Archiver - Jun 17, 2000
... may have been sparked by careless campers who did not properly douse a campfire. ... As of today, 11 large fires were burning in Arizona, California, ...