news
Forrest Brown, CNN • Published on January 26, 2023
There, the damage was so severe that a 60-day closure was ordered for four ranger districts (Monterey, Santa Lucia, Santa Barbara and Ojai). The district of Mt. Pinos was not in the order.h
The order was issued Jan. 13 because of “extreme winter weather events in early January that caused flooding, debris flows, bridge, road and hiking trail failures.”
On Tuesday, a tweet posted by Los Padres showed some of the damage, which was still being assessed.
It is possible that there will be a grace period for the 60-day decision.
The closure order said it “will be replaced or terminated when conditions and access to recreational opportunities improve.” Los Padres received more than 100% of its annual rainfall earlier this month along with heavy wind damage, according to the forest’s website.
In addition, sections of the roads leading to the National Forest are at risk.
Other closures in California
California’s state park system was also hit hard by the flooding, and some of its sites are closed.
Twenty-one state parks, beaches, reservations and associated sites were fully closed at 6:45 p.m. PT on Jan. 24, and an additional 40 locations were partially closed.
The damage and closures were widespread.
Other types of full and partial closures
Sometimes the sun and water combine to create the Firefall event, where the sunlight falls at a certain angle, causing the horsetail’s fall to appear to glow like lava.
magicphoto78/Instagram
It’s not just the recent nasty winter rainstorms that have closed natural areas. Others are closed due to normal seasonal weather conditions, previous weather events, or both.
With so many partial and full closures, you should check the status of a state or national park before committing to any travel plans.
Pictured above: Big Basin Redwoods State Park in California. Photo via Adobe Stock.
Continue reading
