VENTURA : Boy Scout Honored for Fire-Danger Sign

It took seven months and lots of help to build, and a flatbed truck to transport it.

And the new fire-danger sign in Los Padres National Forest won an outstanding achievement award from the U.S. Forest Service for Eagle Scout Matt McEwen, 17, of Ventura.

Matt designed, built and donated the imposing sign to the Ojai Ranger District as a Scouting project with help from his father, Ventura pharmacist Bill McEwen, and eight other Scouts in Troop 128.

The 400-pound sign stands 13 feet tall. Its redwood posts are sunk four feet into the ground across the highway from Wheeler Gorge Campground, six miles north of Ojai.

The rotating inner wheel is spun by hand to show which of the four fire danger stages is in effect. The fire stage determines which restrictions are in force for campfires and other recreational uses of the forest.

“Nobody’s going to drive by here and not see it,” said Mike Preasmeyer, Ojai district fire prevention officer.

“You want to educate people first before having to give them a ticket,” he said. “This sign is a real innovative way to get this message across.”

On a cloudy day after a sprinkle recently, the sign showed moderate fire danger restrictions were still in place. “We need two good inches of rain to go out of fire season,” Preasmeyer said.

“It turned out better than I thought it would,” Matt said.

“We’re thinking about submitting the plans to the Forest Service office in Sacramento.”

The sign posts are bored to meet highway safety standards so they will break if hit by a vehicle.

As a final personal touch, Matt added words to the sign that convey his feelings about trees: “Their future is ours.”