Pinecrest, rest of Stanislaus National Forest shutting down due to wildfire threat
Visitors to Pinecrest Lake and other popular areas in the Stanislaus National Forest will have to pack up and go home, authorities said Monday, the first time in recent memory the forest has been closed.
Stanislaus National Forest will be closed at 5 p.m. due to unprecedented fire danger with record-breaking temperatures, extreme dry conditions, predicted strong winds, and stretched-thin fire fighting resources.
“The example is the Creek Fire, we don’t want a similar event here,” said Diane Fredlund, spokeswoman for the Stanislaus National Forest., “With a wind event coming up, we have extreme fire danger.”
Fredlund said to her knowledge this is the first time that the Stanislaus National Forest has been closed to visitors.
“We don’t have access gates, (and) county and state roads run through the forest, so we never close,” said Fredlund.
In comparison, national parks, such as Yosemite National Park, have access gates and are able to close.
Tuolumne County Sheriff deputies are responsible for the roads transgressing the park and will likely be on duty during the visitors’ departure from the national forest, however, traffic problems are not expected.
“If everyone departs at the same time, it may be like leaving a football game,” said Fredlund.
Popular sites in Stanislaus National Forest include Pinecrest Lake and Calaveres Big Trees areas. Pinecrest has been busy over the holiday weekend, with authorities noting that the parking lots have been full since Saturday.
To get the word out to current visitors and campers about the closure, the rangers are going out to camp sites, camp hosts have been notified to inform guests and signs are being posted, as well as messages on the forest service’s social media outlets.
“After 5 o’clock, all reservations are canceled and folks will be asked to go home,” said Jonathan Groveman, media officers for Region 5 of the National Forest Service, which includes California.
In addition to Stanislaus National Forest, Sierra National Forest, Sequoia National Forest, Inyo National Forest, Los Padres National Forest, Angeles National Forest, San Bernardino National Forest, and Cleveland National Forest will also be closed, authorities said in a press release.
Current fires in California national forests
At this time, a lightning strike fire, named the Bell fire, is smoldering in the wilderness area of Stanislaus National Forest, but no human-caused fires are burning.
Fredlund said, “The Bell Fire has been going for about a month, has burned about 40 acres and is less likely to get out of control.”
She said rangers keep a close eye on lightning strike fires, but when they are remote, in high wilderness areas, they don’t always have to act.
A total of 13 of the 18 national forests across the state currently have active fires, in various stages of containment.
“We usually have more than a million visitors annually,” said Fredlund, “This year, we have had about three times the usual number.”
Because national forests permit dispersion camping, meaning setting up camp anywhere not only in designated camp sites, the actual number of visitors in Stanislaus National Forest this weekend is not known, but estimated to be high.
Many Californians have chosen vacationing at national parks and other outdoor recreational areas during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report from NPR.
Fredlund emphasized that the restrictions are temporary, currently planned until Sept. 14.
“This is short-term for public safety, hopefully lasting only a few days,” said Fredlund, “We will open as soon as conditions allow.”
This story was produced with financial support from The Stanislaus County Office of Education and the Stanislaus Community Foundation, along with the GroundTruth Project’s Report for America initiative. The Modesto Bee maintains full editorial control of this work.
This story was originally published September 7, 2020 at 2:06 PM with the headline "Pinecrest, rest of Stanislaus National Forest shutting down due to wildfire threat."
