The person once thought a suspect for the trestle fire that caused substantial damage to the Parkway while destroying the trestle, has been rearrested, in the same area of the Parkway where the fire occurred, for probation violation.
The article from today’s Bee, reminds me of what many people have long known regarding the origin of fires in the Parkway, that they often result from the many camp fires in the illegal camps the homeless have been erecting in the Parkway for several years.
There have been reports of walnut groves burned down, and several other Parkway fires over the years attributed to homeless campers whose camp fires ignited surrounding trees and brush; and it seems common sense to assume that when you do not vigorously restrict the illegal camping in an area that is heavily wooded, eventually the fire damage will become extensive.
Neither the city nor the county have done much to restrict the illegal camping—and it is important to mention that they do operate under some new court cases somewhat limiting their ability to be too aggressive as well as limited funding for rangers—but we suggest that it is still worthwhile to look at other ideas that have worked elsewhere, some of which we provided in our research report from 2005, The American River Parkway Lower Reach Area: A Corroded Crown Jewel; Restoring the Luster. (pages 25-42)
In this time of tragic, highly dangerous, and very costly fires destroying some of the most wonderful natural places in our state—as this Bee story reporting on the Big Sur & Santa Barbara fires notes—it is crucial we focus as strongly as we are able on the danger close to home and in that regard, we can do a better job, especially in the Parkway.
