OC Parks is initiating a new firewood policy designed to reduce the risk of damaging Orange County’s oak and sycamore woodlands and other trees from invasive pests.

Effective today, visitors to OC Parks’ two camping parks, Caspers Wilderness Park and O’Neill Regional Park, may no longer bring or burn outside firewood, unless it is commercially produced, heat treated and labeled “Pest Free” or “Safe to Move.” This is due to highly invasive and destructive non-native insects that could travel in firewood and decimate local tree populations.

Gold Spotted Oak Borer (GSOB), an invasive beetle that has killed thousands of oak trees in San Diego and Riverside counties in a short span of time, has now been detected in Orange County. The GSOB was discovered in approximately 60 trees on County park land in northern Orange County. Since GSOB is transported in oak firewood, it is critical that Californians keep firewood local and not move it out of the area.

The clocks fall back early Nov. 4, marking the end of daylight-saving time and OC Parks’ spring-summer operating schedule. Most regional parks close at 6 p.m. for the fall and winter, and wilderness parks close at sunset.

For the past 20 years, Orange County Codified Ordinance OCCO 2-5-29(n) prohibited the use of all motorized conveyances, including electric bicycles (eBikes) on all County bikeways and trails.

On July 17, 2018, the Board of Supervisors passed a revision to the ordinance, making the following exception: “Class 1 and Class 2 electric bicycles, as defined by the California Vehicle Code, on those regional paved, off-road bikeways designated for such use by the Director of OC Parks.”

Currently, this means that Class 1 and 2 eBikes are now permitted on more than 75 miles of paved Orange County regional bikeways. Due to safety concerns, all classes of eBikes continue to be prohibited on unpaved trails within regional and wilderness parks.

Spring is here, and that means longer hours, warmer temperatures and more people – and wildlife – out in the parks.

• Parks open later: Spring-summer hours, during Daylight Saving Time, mean parks close at 9 p.m. or sunset.
• Wildlife sightings: Park rangers have reported increased sightings of snakes, including rattlesnakes. Be sure to keep yourself – and your dog, where permitted – on the trail and aware of your surroundings to avoid an encounter.
• Wildflowers: As of early April, only sparse blooms are reported. Take all the photos you want from the trail, but never pick wildflowers – leave them for others to enjoy and to spread their seeds for next season.
• Warmer temperatures: While it’s always important to be prepared, warmer weather makes essentials like water and sunscreen even more important.