As a 30 mph wind gust roared across the flat area known as the “notch” at the center of Baldy Mountain last weekend, three young men staggered down from the summit looking cold, tired and thrilled to have just reached the highest point in Los Angeles. County in such cases of punishment.
Not only did they brave summit heights and strong winds, they each risked a $5,000 fine for violating a US Forest Service closure order.
After the September wildfire destroyed Mt. Baldy Village, destroyed 20 homes and burned more than 50,000 hectares in the surrounding hills, the US Forest Service closed all routes leading to the mountain's magnificent summit for more than a year – until December 2025 – to ensure public safety and promote “natural regeneration” of fragile plants and degraded soil.
A hiker makes his way down Mt. Baldy at the famous ski resort.
(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
But did the three climbers, who climbed the route called the Devil's Spine to find its narrow skull with spine-biting drops on both sides, had they seen the scorched earth or the trees on the way?
“No, nothing, the trail was fine,” said Isaiah Rosas of Moreno Valley. “There were a lot of people going up and down with us.”
That's the catch. While the village 5,000 feet below was destroyed by the Autumn Bridge fire, the summit and the most popular trails leading to it escaped unscathed.
So, like everything else in our fragile public discourse these days, the government's closure of the mountain has sparked a heated debate on social media. On the other side is trail Karen, who monitors online webcams and questions why the forest service doesn't ticket “ignorant and selfish” hikers anyway. On the other side: scofflaws who decry the forest service as just another “useless” government agency closing things down in the name of “safety” at the expense of freedom.
Sound familiar?
Adding fuel to the internet fire was the agency's decision to allow recreational businesses inside the closed area to continue operating – despite the alleged threat to crops and soil.
These young men are among a number of climbers who ignore the closure of Government trails on Mount Baldy despite the risk of a $5,000 fine.
(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
“Crying that capitalism is good, and it has nothing to do with safety or protecting our public spaces,” said one Reddit commenter on the hot topic a few months ago.
“At the root of it, we can see that it has nothing to do with the issue of security, or trying to let go of the world, which is why I think most people don't care about the closure and will still go up,” wrote another.
Robby Ellingson is the general manager of Mt. Baldy Resort, a small family-run ski resort in the heart of a closed section of the mountain that is loved by its fans.
In an interview, Ellingson said he didn't run into snow or burn tools, so he urged the forest service to “close the closure differently.” But instead of changing the lines on the closure map, the forest service gave him a variance that allows him to work inside the closure. That means his restaurant and bar, perched halfway up the mountain and aptly named “Top of the Notch,” is always open. His ice run will open quickly if there is enough snow.
The road closure at Mt. Baldy had a negative impact on the restaurant business in Mt. Baldy Resort. “We lost our entire fall,” general manager Robby Ellingson said.
(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
Sipping a cold beer and admiring the expansive view from the restaurant is a much-anticipated reward after a long, hot hike to the summit, so closing the popular trails in September was a blow to Ellingson's business.
“We lost our whole fall,” he said. “We've been tight-lipped about this, about our displeasure with this.” But he hopes the forest service will stop and open the trails in the spring, as soon as the snow melts.
And while he's determined to maintain a good working relationship with forest service officials, he said he's worried that their tough and tough decision to close undermines their credibility.
Government officials tend to err on the side of “you can never be too safe,” Ellingson said. But, actually, you can, he thinks.
“If you try to be too safe, you end up with stupid rules that don't work” because most people will ignore them.
In an email, US Forest Service spokeswoman Dana Dierkes acknowledged that the most popular trails to the summit, Devil's Backbone and Ski Hut Trail, did not burn in the Bridge fire. They are closed because they “provide access to other burned trails,” he wrote.
In the hills surrounding those burned trails, “vegetation was completely destroyed leaving the area with no natural barrier to erosion,” he wrote.
The forest service predicts “catastrophic landslides and large debris flows in the burned area during the winter storm season,” Dierkes said, and those risks will continue until vegetation grows back.
“After the seasonal weather passes, we will reassess the situation of potential hazards and see if certain areas can reopen,” said Dierkes.
Besides the post office/fire station in Mt. In Baldy Village last week, residents were preparing for landslides when the inevitable winter storms hit. Workers were installing concrete barriers in front of houses across the charred hills; others were preparing a place to distribute sandbags.
But locals also said the extent and consistency of the lane closures seemed unreasonable.
“I think it's wrong, big time, for local businesses and people,” said Cindy Debonis, a resident of Mt. Baldy Village, with extended trail closures on the mountain.
(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
Even the asphalt road around the corner, which leads to amazing views down the valley, is closed. So if the air is warm and the sun is shining and there's no obvious threat of a landslide from the scorched hillside above, taking your dog for a morning walk on Glendora Ridge Road could, theoretically, land you with a $5,000 fine.
“They keep saying it's related to the fire, but there's nothing left,” said resident Cindy Debonis, 63, shaking her head.
“I think it's wrong, big time, for local businesses and people,” he said. “I want to go. I would like to go hiking. This is where I live.”
Source link
