Parkland Dedication Is Postponed

The fires in Ventura County have postponed indefinitely Sunday’s scheduled dedication of the 2,308-acre Palo Comado Canyon near Thousand Oaks as part of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, officials said.

The tract, better known as the Jordan Ranch, has remained untouched by flames. But more than 37,000 acres of state and federal parkland have been scorched in eastern Ventura County since the fires began Wednesday.

“Until we have absolute containment, we felt it best to postpone the ceremony,” said David Gackenbach, superintendent of the recreation area. He said the formal dedication may be held in January or later in the spring.

About 500 people had been expected to attend Sunday’s dedication, including Rep. Anthony Beilenson (D-Woodland Hills), Ventura County Supervisor Maria VanderKolk and a representative of Gov. Pete Wilson, said park spokeswoman Jean Bray. The day was to mark the official opening of the area to the public.

All state and national park sites in Ventura County have been closed because of the fires and will remain so indefinitely, Bray said.

“A lot of our resources are depleted right now,” she said. “Our firefighters and rangers have been busy fighting the fires.”

Gackenbach said about 3,000 acres of federal parkland in Ventura County had been burned in Rancho Sierra Vista, Circle X Ranch and Deer Creek Canyon. But all major structures, including residences, ranger stations and public restrooms, were saved, he said.

Gackenbach said 18 park rangers and seven park firefighting personnel were assisting firefighters in battling the wildfires. He said more park service personnel would be flying in from other parts of California, Hawaii and across the country late Friday to help.

Joe Edmiston, executive director of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, said he and Gackenbach flew over the fire-ravaged parkland in a helicopter Thursday afternoon. He said all major structures at Point Mugu State Park, where more than 10,000 acres were burned, had also been spared.

“The fire crews did a great job,” Edmiston said. “It’s been generations since some of (the vegetation) had burned. Everything was pulverized a slate gray. It was so stark. It was really sobering.”

Meanwhile, Bray said Palo Comado Canyon will probably be open to the public before the official dedication, but no date has been set.

“We just don’t want people running out to see it now,” Bray said. “Sometimes that gets a little scary when things are so dry.”

The park service in June purchased the 2,308-acre, oak-dotted tract from entertainer Bob Hope for $16.7 million. The purchase represents the single largest acquisition within the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, a unit of the National Park Service that is stitching together a network of mountain parks and trails in Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

The acquisition pushes the National Recreation Area to about 20,400 acres--well on the way to the park service’s goal of 35,000 acres.

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Times Correspondent Barbara Murphy contributed to this story.