Mt. San Jacinto State Park stays open, 70 others closed

Mt. San Jacinto St Park is not among the 70 state parks to closed over the next 14 month. John Laird, Secretary of the California Department of Natural Resources and Ruth Coleman, Director of California State Parks, announced today Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget reductions proposals which the legislature approved in March will require the agency to close the 70 parks by July 1, 2010.

Use, revenues, significance and ability to ensure no access were all criteria used to determine which of the state’s parks would be closed.

Both laird and Coleman were adamant that this decision was solely based on the March budget decisions. Whatever the governor proposes Monday in his may revised budget will be an additional decision with which they must grapple.

Coleman did say the agency would try to honor all existing reservations at these areas. If a park or campground were closed, State Parks will try to find a comparable and nearby site.

List of 70 park closures:

Anderson Marsh SHP

Annadel SP

Antelope Valley Indian Museum

Austin Creek SRA

Bale Grist Mill SHP

Benbow Lake SRA

Benicia Capitol SHP

Benicia SRA

Bidwell Mansion SHP

Bothe-Napa Valley SP

Brannan Island SRA

California Mining & Mineral Museum

Candlestick Point SRA

Castle Crags SP

Castle Rock SP

China Camp SP

Colusa-Sacramento River SRA

Del Norte Coast Redwoods SP

Fort Humboldt SHP

Fort Tejon SHP

Garrapata SP

George J. Hatfield SRA

Governor's Mansion SHP

Gray Whale Cove SB

Greenwood SB

Grizzly Creek Redwoods SP

Hendy Woods SP

Henry W. Coe SP

Jack London SHP

Jug Handle SNR

Leland Stanford Mansion SHP

Limekiln SP

Los Encinos SHP

Malakoff Diggins SHP

Manchester SP

McConnell SRA

McGrath SB

Mono Lake Tufa SNR

Morro Strand SB

Moss Landing SB

Olompali SHP

Palomar Mountain SP

Petaluma Adobe SHP

Picacho SRA

Pio Pico SHP

Plumas-Eureka SP

Point Cabrillo Light Station

Portola Redwoods SP

Providence Mountains SRA

Railtown 1897 SHP

Russian Gulch SP

Saddleback Butte SP

Salton Sea SRA

Samuel P. Taylor SP

San Pasqual Battlefield SHP

Santa Cruz Mission SHP

Santa Susana Pass SHP

Shasta SHP

South Yuba River SP

Standish-Hickey SRA

Sugarloaf Ridge SP

Tomales Bay SP

Tule Elk SNR

Turlock Lake SRA

Twin Lakes SB

Weaverville Joss House SHP

Westport-Union Landing SB

William B. Ide Adobe SHP

Woodson Bridge SRA

Zmudowski SB

St. Park reservations

The Mt. San Jacinto St. Park has decided to call campers with weekend reservations offeriing a full rebate, according to Superintendent Garret Aitchison.

"With limited staff, I'm worried about an emergency evacuation," he said. And he acknowledged this was strictly a state park decision.

In contrast, John Miller, the information source for the incident command structure assigned to the Cottonwood Fire, said," We have left all the campgrounds and picnic areas open. The last thing we want is put a nail in the coffin of the town."

Miller and other fire officials are more than confident that the Hill can be alerted to an imminent danger well before the emergency is on our doorstep.

While the rumor yesterday was that the Idyllwild Arts campus was evacuated, Idyllwild Fire Chief Steve Kunkle acknowledges he asked employees to keep in contact with their staff because they are dispersed around the campus. He did not call for an evacuation, but only suggested it might be temporarily safer in town.

This is JP's vow: If an evacuation is ordered, it will be posted on this site within minutes of learning about the decision. I will post if from my desk at the Town Crier. I will not be in San Diego, Palm Desert or on the beach.

We are here together. Being vigilant does not mean panic. Please come to the town meeting.