Campgrounds Closed : Park Land to Remain Off Limits to Campers Until Deemed Safe

In the aftermath of the devastating fire that charred more than 16,000 acres on Palomar Mountain last week, several public campgrounds are still shut down and a state park in the area is expected to remain closed at least through the end of the month.

Officials said much of the park land will remain off limits to the public until smoldering stumps are fully extinguished and trees weakened by the flames are deemed to be safe.

Tim McGrath, an information assistant with the U.S. Forest Service, said the fire, which blackened large sections of chaparral and timber in the Cleveland National Forest, failed to touch several campgrounds run by the federal agency.

Nonetheless, only the Observatory Campground near the top of Palomar Mountain and a nearby county campground have been reopened since the week-long blaze was extinguished by the efforts of more than 2,000 firefighters and a welcome rainstorm that swept through the region last weekend.

McGrath said the Fry Creek Campground is expected to be reopened next week. Although flames were controlled before they could spread into the campground, a bulldozer cut a firebreak through the area as a precaution and the area will remain closed until it can be smoothed over, he said.

Dripping Springs Campground Closed

The Dripping Springs Campground had been shut down before the fire for a construction project, and officials said it probably will not be reopened until the job can be finished.

Palomar Mountain State Park, meanwhile, will probably remain closed for several more weeks, according to Jack Shu, a district superintendent with the state Department of Parks and Recreation. The fire charred 600 to 800 acres of timber and meadow lands in the 1,800-acre park, Shu said.

Although the flames were extinguished by the three inches of rain that fell last weekend, a number of stumps and dead trees are still smoldering, he said. In addition, many trees were weakened by the flames, raising concern among officials that limbs could fall or whole trees topple on unsuspecting campers, Shu said.

“This was essentially a low-intensity fire that did not burn up a lot of major trees,” Shu said. “But enough did burn to make it a hazard for the public.”

Shu said it would “just take some time” for the weakened and smoldering trees “to more or less take care of themselves.” With the recent rainfall, officials are not concerned about the smoldering logs sparking a new fire, he said.

The fire, he said, burned through or to the edge of several picnic areas as well as the Doane Valley and Cedar Grove campgrounds. While such areas will likely be reopened within a few weeks, several back-country trails that were severely scorched by fire will likely remain closed for a longer period because of tree hazards and concerns about erosion, Shu said.