Wilderness areas around Mountain Fire reopening
Areas of the San Jacinto Mountains closed because ofthe Mountain Fire will reopen to the public today.
National Forest land will open today and Mount Jacinto State Park landwill open Friday.
Slated to reopen are all areas of the National Forest north of the statepark — including Marion Mountain, Seven Pines and the Deer Springs trails,and Lake ulmor. Marion Mountain, Dark Canyon, Boulder Basin and Black Mountainand Fern Basin campgrounds will also re-open, according to U.S. Forest Servicespokesman John Miller.
The Mountain Fire, which was sparked by an electrical malfunction onprivate property northeast of Idyllwild early on the afternoon of July 15, wasfinally fully contained Tuesday, having scorched 27,531 acres and destroyed 23structures, including seven homes. There were no serious injuries.
Miller said visitors to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway can get into theLong Valley area but will not be allowed to hike into the rest of Mount SanJacinto State Park. Park officials plan to open Little Round Valley Camp,Strawberry Junction Camp and the areas west of the Deer Springs Trail.
The Pacific Crest Trail will remain closed from StrawberryCamp/Strawberry Junction to Highway 74 in Garner Valley.
“Forest and park officials plan to re-evaluate the closure areas overthe coming weeks to identify other areas that may be eligible to reopen assafety and resource protection concerns are addressed,” Miller said.
For more information on Mount San Jacinto State Park, call (951) 569-2607 or go to www.parks.ca.gov. For more information on National Forest land,call the San Jacinto Ranger District at (909) 382-2921 or go towww.fs.usda.gov/sbnf.
