State Parks Reopen Following Southern California Fires
Memorial Day Reservations Open Thursday
California State Parks will resume taking reservations on Thursday for all but three of the parks affected by the Southern California wildfires. This will also be the first opportunity for all visitors to make a reservation at any of our 278 state parks for the Memorial Day weekend in May, the most popular camping weekend of the year.
As a result of the fires, 1,400 reservations at 11 parks had to be canceled. With fire conditions improving and parks reopening, reservations at all but three of those parks reopen on Thursday.
Two of the parks that remain closed suffered significant fire damage: Palomar Mountain State Park and San Pasqual Battlefield State Historic Park (SHP), both in San Diego County.
At the San Pasqual Battlefield, fire consumed the entire 50-acre park. In its wake, it burned part of the museum roof and took out the park's water supply system, power and sewer. It also destroyed two modular trailers that were no longer being used and a small maintenance building. As a result of the fire, the annual "Reenactment of the Battle of San Pasqual" planned for December 2 has been canceled.
At the Palomar Mountain State Park, fire burned 1,230 acres, which is 65 percent of the park. One house on the property was coated in gel. When the fire came through, the house wouldn't burn, but its detached garage that wasn't gelled was completely destroyed. Gel also protected a second house and the ranger's office. The park is working to restore water and power to the park with hopes of reopening in approximately a month.
The third park that remains closed is Mount San Jacinto State Park in Riverside County. Although it was not damaged by fire, it closed in response to the closure of the San Bernardino National Forest, which surrounds a portion of the park and remains vulnerable to wildfires. The park will remain closed as long as drought conditions persist.
Although the fires are nearly contained, Southern California expects to see Santa Ana winds with their lower humidity and higher winds this weekend. Travelers should still be advised that fire conditions are subject to change and may impact delivery of services at any of our state parks in Southern California on short notice. Assistance for evacuees, travel information and other fire-related information is available online at the Governor's Office of Emergency Services.
At the peak of the fire, California State Parks provided temporarily campsites and day use areas to approximately 3,000 evacuees. As of today, there are less than 95 evacuees in state parks.
Reopened
The 11 parks that were closed on Friday have resumed normal operations. Of the parks listed below, those that take reservations will resume doing so on Thursday, November 1.
San Diego County
Cuyamaca Rancho State Park
San Elijo State Beach
San Onofre State Beach's
San Mateo Campground
Silver Stran d State Beach
South Carlsbad State Beach
Orange County
Crystal Cove State Park's
primitive campsites
Doheny State Beach
San Clemente State Beach
Riverside County
Lake Perris State Recreation Area
San Bernardino County
Chino Hills State Park
Wildwood Canyon
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