DEPUTIES FORM OFF-ROAD PATROL TEAM TRESPASSERS ON DIRT BIKES TO BE TARGETED.

Byline: Holly Edwards Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - On any given day, hundreds of dirt bikers speed through the off-road trails that overlook the city's housing developments, condominiums and shopping centers, officials say.

While some ride legally on land designated for recreation, others wreak havoc, damage private property, scare horses and create a fire hazard, authorities say.

Faced with an increasing number of complaints by residents who call the dirt bikes a nuisance, deputies at the Santa Clarita sheriff's station are forming an off-road enforcement team.

``It's a minority of people causing the problems, but the problem we have is some people are damaging private property and taking down no trespassing signs,'' said Sgt. Steve Jenkins, heading up the special enforcement effort.

``Some residents in Hasley Canyon and Circle J Ranch also complain the noise scares their horses. And most of the areas that are off limits to off-road vehicles are high fire-risk zones, so it's a dangerous situation if the dirt bikes don't have spark arresters.''

Eight deputies at the station have been trained in off-road enforcement, and search and rescue missions, Jenkins said, and the team has acquired four used dirt bikes from the Lost Hills sheriff's station. A set of further training and safety guidelines is being drafted for the new program, to be launched this summer.

``The kids are up in these areas every day. It's just a matter of us having time to go get them,'' said Deputy Mike Konecny, one of the deputies trained in off-road operations.

Officials said the station already dispatches its helicopter several times each week for off-road traffic enforcement. In the first eight months last year, he said, the station received more than 300 complaints about off-road dirt bikers on private property.

``We'll probably start by giving them a warning,'' Konecny said, adding that fines for off-road vehicle violations can amount to over $1,000.

However, local dirt bikers say they are being banned from more and more land every year.

One popular area for off-road vehicles lies at the end of Santa Clara Street in Canyon Country. The property owner has allowed such use of his land for years, sheriff's officials say.

``Little by little, the areas we can ride on are shrinking,'' said Cary Sklar, 33, of Saugus, who has been using the Santa Clara Street land for years. ``And just in the last five years it's gotten harder to get a green sticker that shows the bike meets smog and fire codes. I think gradually they're trying to phase out dirt bikes completely.''

Todd Allen, 35, of Canyon Country said he recently started riding a dirt bike again after quitting about 10 years ago.

``I stopped riding about the time we started seeing the choppers telling you to leave,'' he said. Back on the trails again, he said he immediately noticed there were fewer.

Jenkins and Konecny say they sympathize with the dirt bikers' plight and are not trying to eliminate their recreation but just to make sure they don't infringe on private property rights or create a fire hazard.

``We ride dirt bikes ourselves, so we're not out to get the kids,'' Konecny said. ``It's mostly just a safety issue, and they're tearing up other people's land. The problem is there aren't a lot of places left to ride legally.''

Rowher Flats near Canyon Country and Hungry Valley Off-Road Vehicle Park near Gorman are two of the closest legal areas to ride, officials said.

According to Sklar, a few dirt bikers are giving all off-roaders a bad name.

``My motto has always been tread lightly,'' he said. ``So I stay on the trails and don't make a wreck out of the ground. I always thought there was a way we could all co-exist. But now it seems kind of like they want to take away our right to have fun and have some recreation in our lives.''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Tony Brown adjusts the helmet on his son, Ryan, 8, before the two ride on land whose owners allow it. Most owners don't.

(2) Longtime rider Cary Sklar of Saugus stays in the dwindling territory where dirt bikes are legal.

Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News