RickshawFan
Verified Outdoor Recreation Specialist
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2013
- Messages
- 10,960
- Reaction score
- 54,196
I think this assumes we have the real reason for the closure of the Hite Cove area. I don’t believe we do.There are separate orders dealing with distinct issues. You linked to an order from the USDA Forest Service closing all national forests in California from August 31 to September 17. That order is about fire danger.
Three days ago, the Forest Supervisor of the Sierra National Forest issued an order closing the Merced River Recreation Site from August 29 through September 26. (The Merced River Recreation Site is where the family was hiking.) Here is some context about that order:
"As a precaution and to protect the public from unknown hazards in the area, The SNF decided to close several recreation sites, roads, and trails along the Merced River and its South Fork, until deemed safe for public use. It is important to note that as of mid-July, Forest officials have posted warning signs of potentially harmful algal blooms (HABs) identified in the South Fork of the Merced River."
Source: Sierra National Forest issues Forest Order | Sierra News Online
One order has nothing to do with the other. The SNF order closing the Merced River Recreation Site was in effect before (and will still be in effect after) the USDA order expires.
And sure, the Hite Cove order anticipated the other, but that doesn’t mean the fire order wasn’t in the works and the Forest Service added a few days to it, and called it something else.
I still think toxins aren’t the real reason for the closure, and fire may not be as big an issue there as elsewhere. But the Forest Service REALLY does have to keep people out who would be hunting for “clues”. I doubt they could say that in a PSA without paradoxically becoming a magnet.