Some East Bay Regional Parks that were closed due to fire danger could reopen Thursday.
At least five parks in the district were scorched by the SCU Complex Fire that began Aug. 16 as a result of lightning strikes. Three of those five parks are still actively burning, according to the East Bay Regional Parks District.
All East Bay Regional Parks in the district, except for shorelines and regional trails, have been closed since Friday because of the high fire danger and unhealthy air. The park district’s general parks manager said most of the non-fire affected parks could reopen Thursday, depending on air quality.
“Closing parks is always our last resort when safety of people, property or the environment cannot be maintained,” said General Manager Robert Doyle in a statement.
He said they kept parks open during the COVID-19 pandemic, even with other agencies didn’t.
“Parks are essential now more than ever, but we can’t risk having visitors in the parks when there are extreme fire safety concerns and unhealthy smoke in the air,” Doyle said.
The Sunol, Ohlone Wilderness, Morgan Territory in Livermore, Mission Peak in Fremont and Round Valley in Brentwood parks were all hit by lightning, causing fires to burn inside these parks. The fires at Round Valley, Morgan Territory and Mission Peak, as of Wednesday, are being mopped up. The others at Sunol and Ohlone Wilderness are still burning with little containment.
According to Cal Fire, the SCU Lightning Complex fire, which has impacted at least five counties including Alameda and Santa Clara, is reported at 25% contained as of Wednesday. It has burned a total of 365,772 acres.
Park district firefighters continue to work on the fires in the parks district, labeled the Calaveras and Canyon Fire complexes in Sunol and Ohlone Wilderness. There is no estimate of how many acres have been burned within these parks or an estimate on potential assets lost, according to the parks district.
