Two of my closest friends lost their homes in the Corral fire. One, Scott Palamar, had been a loud activist over the last few years, repeatedly warning the State Parks of this inevitable tragedy. The parking lot at the top of Corral, where the blaze was started, is owned and managed by the California Department of Parks and Recreation and is supposed to be off-limits to visitors after sundown. As far as I am aware, this rule has been sluggishly enforced, maybe a handful of times over the years, and only after concerned neighbors, like Scott, have forced the issue with authorities.
Historically, this is a known hangout for careless young people who leave behind evidence of their reckless nighttime activities. On any given day you could find countless discarded cigarette butts, rings of charred earth from illegal bonfires, trash and broken beer bottles strewn about our state park, our state park land! Everything points to this tragedy being human caused. There were no downed power lines. It was a Friday night, a party night, and dry winds were forecast. This was a preventable catastrophe. A park service employee, or even an hourly paid security guard stationed at the entrance to the park would have surely prevented this horrific event. To those who started this blaze, whether on purpose or by accident, come forward and take responsibility for your actions! And to the park service administration, this cannot ever happen again! You must find a way, even through a volunteer program, to fiercely uphold our parks’ rules.
Rebecca Dmytryk Titus