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Paso Robles declares public safety emergency in Salinas River bed

July 20, 2019

The City of Paso Robles has declared a public emergency over safety issues at the Salinas River bed. [Cal Coast Times]

Firefighters are currently responding to two to three fires a week in the river bed. Since Jan. 2019, crews have battled 63 fires in the Salinas River bed.

City officials are allocating more than $300,000 from the city’s general fund to create fire breaks and clean up dead brush.

On July 10, fire in the river bed forced Paso Robles police to close the Niblick Bridge.

The city used to clean out the river bed each year to prepare for fire season. But concerns raised by environmentalists have ended the practice. As a result, dead brush has taken over some areas.


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Just viewed another fire in the riverbed (about 6PM today) – #64 or 65 by now!. I hear where the city plans on clearing out the brush (although after a few more fires, won’t be a lot left).

It is a very scary thought, but it has to be asked – just what will it take before the city takes immediate pro-active (as in tomorrow) action to remove the cause of these fires – the homeless?

I pray it will not take a fire that gets out of control quickly and destroys a few businesses or residences.

True enough, the city is out pursuing grants (or more likely another tax on residents) to build a homeless shelter (with showers, kitchens, rec rooms, 3D wide screen TV and many other amenities) for those who have decided to live this way – but really – is this going to have a

real, measurable impact – or is this just another CYA statement) Time will tell.


4

Environmentalists can’t see the forest for the trees. Not clearing brush is what caused the deaths after the Santa Barbara fires a couple of years ago. Brush build up caused creeks to back up resulting in devastating mud slides that killed several people.


3

If you want to save money. We got the local fire department to get a chainsaw crew from the prison approved. Good paying jobs for them when they get out with fire suppression skills too. Pennies on the dollar.


7

Shoot, save some money and pay the folks down in the Salinas with pretty much no resources here in Paso. That 200k year fire chief salary could be cut a bit; regardless, controlled burning has nothing to do with eco health, just safety, and we have literally neglected and killed the Salinas; what used to have steelhead just 10 years back up into Atascadero Creek.Sediment and runoff are pretty bad in spots.


0

Yep.


4

The city used to clean out the river bed each year to prepare for fire season. But concerns raised by environmentalists have ended the practice.


The city needs to stop being concerned about the environmentalists’ concerns.


23

Well, how are the homeless going to cook their turkey dogs if they can’t have a campfire?


16

The city used to clean out the river bed each year to prepare for fire season. But concerns raised by environmentalists have ended the practice. As a result, dead brush has taken over some areas.


The Hezoboenvironmentalists strike again.

You would have though that State agencies would have learned their lesson after the PG&E fires bankrupted the States power company and cleaned up the underbrush to prevent fires.


11

Many years ago there was a near failure of the Arroyo Grande creek levee on Oceano. This was due to debris stacking up and preventing flows. When the realization was made its critical time to clean out this creek bed, the enviro’s disallowed this to happen because of riparian habitat. At that point there was talk of actually building yet another creek or channel from Lopez to the ocean. So I’ll ask when that grew full of trees, cat tails and lizards, then what? Bulldoze Oceano to make way for a third creek bed to prevent south county from flooding? Plain stupidity costing tax payers millions.


8

Public safety emergency? Did somebody overlook the obvious homeless issue, there’s your public emergency. Spontaneous combustion? Nahhh…. Could it be the homeless who light these fires to cook or stay warm?. Ya think if you cut down whatever brush there is the fires will move to where there is fuel to cook and stay warm. I think we better create another government oversight committee to figure this one out eh?


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