As Southern Californians increasingly flock to the mountains for relief from a recent heat wave and months-long coronavirus restrictions, hundreds of illegal campfires have sprung up in dispersed campsites.
A small Cessna soared high above the Mojave Desert recently, its engine growling in the choppy morning air.
Forest Service public affairs officer Zach Behrens greets campers at a dispersed campsite in Holcomb Valley, CA. But because of the increasing tourist pressure, “weekdays are now like weekends and weekends are like major holidays,” Behrens said. “And with the surge of visitors has come an uptick in illegal campfires all over the forest.”
It was 109 degrees in the shade with high humidity when they left their home in Indio, Calif., that morning, they said. The traffic congestion they encountered in Big Bear Lake that afternoon was a crushing disappointment. After several hours of searching unsuccessfully for an available space at a forest service campground, they ventured into Holcomb Valley.
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