El Dorado County locks down its public barbecues in advance of Labor Day weekend

All barbecues will be removed, covered or locked in El Dorado County parks by the end of the day Friday, after complaints from residents that potential carelessness over Labor Day weekend would spark a wildfire.

Fire and barbecue usage are already prohibited in El Dorado County parks, but county officials said they were stepping up enforcement by locking down the current grills. One resident recently witnessed charcoal thrown on the ground near dry brush at a county park.

“It’s obvious with all of the fires going on around us that everybody needs to take as much care as they can to ensure that we don’t add to the already catastrophic situation in our county,” said Carla Hass, the communicators director for the county.

Signage will be posted to notify visitors of the current ban, according to a tweet from the county. Removing barbecues and posting signs about fires being outlawed is “just a further step” to ensure people adhere to the ban, Hass said.

“We want to ensure that residents and visitors at our parks do everything they can to remain safe and keep our county property safe while they’re having fun,” Hass said.

Earlier this week, concerned residents of El Dorado County signed a petition to ban open fires immediately, out of fear of visitors flooding parks for Labor Day weekend barbecues.

Coloma resident Janet Maineri created the petition after she saw fresh coals littering the ground from an overflowing barbecue grill at Henningsen Lotus Park, on the South Fork of the American River in rural El Dorado County.

“Our community is so grateful to our county leaders for their swift action in removing or locking all barbecues by the end of today,” said Maineri.

This morning, crews removed the barbecue at Henningsen Lotus Park. Lotus resident Jacqui Moore said it’s “wonderful news” to see the barbecues removed from the park and snapped photos of the bare ground and traffic cones in their place.

The crews also cleaned up much of the leaves, debris and tree branches near the barbecues at the park that posed a fire risk, Moore said.

Maineri said she hopes to address the “lack of cohesiveness that exists right now,” among the agencies involved in making fire ban decisions.

The petitioners are focusing their efforts on banning open fires in the entire county on all public and private land, including the county’s numerous private campgrounds, Maineri said. They also seek a long term solution for fire bans in the county each year.

“We look forward to working with the board on our other concerns,” Maineri said.

Through the fire advocacy and education efforts, Moore said she hopes people think differently about fire use and understand why fire bans are in place.

“The days of having a huge bonfire in your backyard for recreational purposes in the middle of the summer are gone,” Moore said.

This story was originally published September 3, 2021 at 2:19 PM with the headline "El Dorado County locks down its public barbecues in advance of Labor Day weekend."