10/14/2008
Date: 10/15/2008
Last July the Gap Fire raged through the mountains above Santa Barbara, CA effectively closing down and partially damaging the popular bouldering areas known as The Brickyard and Lizards Mouth. The Los Padres National Forest (LPNF) initially closed the areas down for a month while aircraft applied hydromulch to 1,500 acres to help protect the denuded hillsides during the upcoming rainy season. See www.fs.fed.us/r5/lospadres/conditions. The Los Padres National Forest then extended the closure period to a year to protect the hydromulch cover.
The Access Fund contacted LPNFs Santa Barbara District Ranger to discuss limited bouldering access and confirmed that public access will be allowed to the Lizards Mouth bouldering area immediately because that location is near the road and composed almost entirely of exposed rock that does not depend on hydromulching for rehabilitation. However, because The Brickyard is further from the road and in an area with vegetation, LPNF will continue the closure there through next September unless the groundcover recovers faster than expected. For more information, email [email protected].