LOS PADRES : Forest to Stay Open Despite Fire Risk

The Los Padres National Forest will remain open to campers and hunters for the Labor Day weekend, despite one of the highest fire dangers in recent years, forestry officials announced Tuesday.

Forest managers met Tuesday to review the current fire season, including a series of recent blazes that have charred hundreds of acres in the Los Padres National Forest, said spokeswoman Kathy Good.

One reason for concern was the large number of fires in the state this summer and the difficulty of quickly marshaling enough firefighters to handle a large fire, she said.

But the outlook has changed in the last week, with cooler temperatures helping firefighters gain the upper hand, Good said.

“Closing the forest is a serious move, and we don’t want to impact deer hunters and other recreational users,” Good said. “It would have made a lot of people unhappy.”

Deer hunters are among the most numerous users of Los Padres National Forest during the coastal deer-hunting season, which runs from Aug. 8 to Sept. 20, she said. The approach of the Labor Day holiday and the demand for forest campgrounds were also a consideration to forestry officials, she said.

A 150,000-acre portion of the forest in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties has been closed to visitors since fire restrictions were imposed July 23, Good said.

Forestry officials last closed the entire 1.95-million-acre forest because of fire danger in 1978. In 1985 as well, large areas of the forest were closed.

If fire conditions remain hazardous, forestry officials may consider closure after the Labor Day weekend, said Earl Clayton, another forestry spokesman. He added that the current “burn index” has the highest reading in at least 12 years.