ANGELES FOREST CLOSING EXTREME FIRE DANGER CITED AS THE REASON.

Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem Staff Writer

ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST - Citing a mounting fire danger in the wilderness bordering much of Los Angeles County, the U.S. Forest Service will close the forest on Monday until ``significant rainfall'' eases the hazard.

A few widely used recreation areas including Pyramid Lake and the Littlerock Dam Recreation Area will remain open as will main commuter roads such as Angeles Crest Highway and Bouquet Canyon Road, said Cid Morgan, district ranger for the section of the Angeles National Forest bordering the Antelope and Santa Clarita valleys.

But trails, hunting areas, campgrounds and other facilities more than one-eighth of a mile off a highway will be closed until the fire danger subsides, Morgan said.

Some special permits will be provided but violators of the closure will face fines up to $5,000.

``Our indicators show the fire danger is extreme - it's worse than the same time last year and everyone remembers what happened last October,'' Morgan said, referring to firestorms that swept through the mountains west of Santa Clarita and devastated communities in San Bernardino, Riverside and San Diego counties.

``Now, with any sort of Santa Ana or other wind event we could have fire behavior like we've never seen before.''

The restrictions are tighter in Morgan's district where some campgrounds in fire-prone areas along well-traveled highways will close, she said Friday. Already this year, 35,000 acres have burned in three forest fires in that region.

The announcement Thursday evening that the forest will shut down temporarily after this weekend marked the third time in four years the Angeles Forest was closed to hikers, hunters, off-road riders and other outdoor enthusiasts.

In 2000, '02 and '03, the Angeles was closed for the fire season in late October, typically reopening as soon as the weather cooled. This year is different because of continuing drought and low humidity that have dried brush and made thousands of trees susceptible to bark beetle and other pest infestations. The insects further damage the trees, turning them into fuel for wildfires.

The worry is that a small spark from a campfire, cigarette or vehicle engine and a gust of wind would be devastating in the sprawling urban forest, which backs up to neighborhoods from Castaic to San Dimas.

``We're trying to avoid a repeat of last year,'' forest supervisor Jody Noiron said. ``Even though we may have a low pressure system that moves through the area and temps are cooler for a day or two, it has no real effect on the extremely dry conditions.''

``The only thing that will bring us out of these extreme conditions is a significant amount of rainfall over a sustained period of time.''

Henry Schultz, vice chairman of the Santa Clarita chapter of the Sierra Club, frequently leads hikes in the Angeles Forest. He dismissed the restrictions as ``silly.''

``It isn't going to prevent fires,'' Schultz said.

Hiking groups, he said, will have to rethink weekend schedules. The Sierra Club holds hikes year-round, frequently in the Angeles Forest, but Schultz said he fears it could be a while before they return.

``Since we're in a serious drought, this could be a long closure,'' he said.

With deer hunting season opening Oct. 9 in Los Angeles County, the closure means hunters will have to look elsewhere. State Department of Fish and Game spokesman Troy Swauger said the department will not issue refunds because the archery deer season has already opened.

Hunters with license tags for Los Angeles County can also hunt in parts of Ventura, Riverside and Orange counties, Swauger said. Los Padres National Forest in Ventura County remains open, but Cleveland National Forest in Orange County and western Riverside County is also closing.

Forest officials made the decision to keep the larger recreation areas including Pyramid Lake, Littlerock Dam, most of the San Gabriel Canyon and Mount Baldy open because they are close to roads and easier to evacuate should a fast-moving brush fire sweep through.

Patricia Farrell Aidem, [phone]

pat.aidem(at)dailynews.com