"The Zaca Fire has moved east towards Highway 33 has become established in Deal and Rancho Nuevo Canyons in the Dick Smith Wilderness."
Will we loose half of Los Padres National Forest - in less than a year - due to wildfires?
Last summer it was lightning strikes all around Mount Pinos, San Emigdio & Tecuya Ridge. Then there was the Day fire that started on I-5 at Labor Day & lasted until late October. No one thought it would get all the way to Lockwood Valley. No one thought it would jump Lockwood & it did. That wildfire took out most of Sespe Wilderness. Now we have Zaca Fire wiping out even more Wilderness lands.
Why do we have such vicious raging fires? Cuz there is plenty of fuel to burn. Why do we let our delicate 'Wilderness Lands' get so overgrown? Maybe the reason is - WE CANNOT ACCESS them. The fire crews with vehicles cannot maintain these hidden precious lands. Mountain bikers cannot ride these hundred year old trails. Motorcycles, quads & 4x4 Jeeps cannot access any of it. Nope. Only backpackers & horses can enter these most valued canyons. WE CLOSED IT OFF decades ago, to protect it & let it grow.
Makes you wonder if we are micro managing our forests? Or neglecting them? Who's running this show anyway?
