The first draft of the eagerly awaited BAER Report has hit the streets. Highlights include:
1) A recommendation that the burned area not be reopened (due to the high hazard posed by things like falling trees and dry ravel) until after the first winter at the earliest;
2) A finding that a storm dropping 2.77 inches of rain in 6 hours (not exactly a big rain event by Santa Lucia standards) will result in about double the amount of runoff in many watersheds than the same storm would have caused before the fire;
3) A finding that the Los Padres Reservoir is “likely” to lose storage capacity; and
4) (Our favorite) Further concern that “Trail users may become disoriented due to the loss of trail prism in remote and potentially dangerous environment” (sic).
Don’t you just hate losing trail prism? We know we do …
Click here to read the draft BAER Report for yourself.
Xasáuan Today 