Hey y'all. Checking in to see how my fellow Californians, especially central and southern California peeps are doing with all the national forest closures. I guess the only place to go wheeling and adventuring is the desert. I was out in Joshua Tree the other week and it was great.

I get that there are fires going on and the Region 5 Forester, Randy Moore is just trying to keep us safe but part of me feels like this is getting out of hand. I understand closing some forests where weather and other issues causes high risk of fire, but how can they close all of Central to Southern California? I dunno about you but our weather down here in San Diego is pretty nice and I checked forecasts for areas within Cleveland National Forest and they look pretty good to me. Even places like Big Bear and Wrightwood have temps in the high 70s, low 80s and not much wind. I checked the National Weather Service forecasts and I don't see any excessive heat warnings or excessive fire warnings.

I think govt officials have gotten the power bug from these mass closures from Covid and perhaps it is translating into other areas as well...

At the least, the National Forest Service should publish criteria that need to be met in order for the forests to reopen. Specific temps, humidity, wind, etc. Perhaps a certain % of current fires to be contained at a certain level? Anything? They just keep us in the dark and keep extending the closures.

Am I the only one feeling this way?

Totally understand your frustration. I just think they don't have any more resources left to deal with idiots. The idiot who holds his cigarettes' out the car window, or tosses his ashes out, or tends an illegal camp fire poorly. Might be only 1 in 10, irresponsible jerk. But this crowded world is filled with them, so this is what you get.

yeh i get it. :T Hopefully it will end soon.

Where have y'all been going the past month? I'm gonna do a day trip on Sat but not sure if I want to head out to Anza. It's going to be hot hot hot.

When I lived in LA I spent a lot of time on fire roads south of 138. Most of them were closed 8+ years ago and never reopened.
It seems once access is closed, they have zero motivation or budget to open them again.

We definitely feel the pain up here in Northern cali. This is the time where general rifle season opens for hunting, and I have my honey holes where I go every year. Mendocino national in particular is where I go this time of year and the August complex fire which is the largest fire in Cali history that is still active has completely burned down my usual area. I can try new surrounding areas but the smoke is so bad, it's not worth it.

El Dorado national forest south of Tahoe is my backup hunting area. I was there last week and they have implemented a no dispersed camping order. You can only camp in developed campgrounds, but only 3 campgrounds are open on a first come first serve basis through the entire El dorado national forest. We got lucky we got the last spot, but you can imagine how difficult it can be. I usually backpack out a few hours and spot camp in a certain areas when I hunt, and I'm usually out for 5 days. The worst of it all is the "no open flame" order! No propane or butane stoves. No jetboil! 5 days of beef jerky, granola bars and snacks. I did have a workaround by bringing my generator and an electric griddle. Problem with that is I had to be back at camp at a decent time to run the generator so I can cook something without disturbing my neighbors with the generator noise. That takes vital time away from prime hunting hours, so i would end up snacking for dinner.

It's all a temporary pain in the butt though. I completely understand why they have to implement these orders. Natural fires by Mother Nature is acceptable, but these idiots who have no respect for fire safety is the issue. Cmon now, an explosive device for a gender reveal going off in a high burn area, wtf are people thinking. Then you got these arsonits just starting fires for no damn reason. Its ridiculous. I do appreciate all you firefighters and first responders helping us here in California during these difficult times. Cant wait for 2020 to be over with! Be safe out there!