Category Archives: Bike Trail

Bike Trail, Fire, Rafting, safety, Water, Wildlife

Illegal camping sparks concerns about fires along American River Parkway

Pressure is mounting for Sacramento County to do more about illegal camping and potential fire danger along the American River Parkway.

“Move the homeless population out of the 12th Street corridor,” said Mike Rushford of the American River Parkway Preservation Society.

Rushford was inspecting the charred-out remains of a fire in Sacramento’s urban forest, the American River Parkway.

Illegal homeless campsites “threaten this big open preserve here,” Rushford said.

“A month from now, this would just burn all the way to the Woodlake area,” Rushford said. “This year, because it’s the fourth year of a very bad drought, could be the year that we get that catastrophic fire that we all fear so much.”

Preservationists like Rushford are increasingly concerned about illegal campsites and the growing risk of fires caused by transients.

Last year a KCRA 3 investigation revealed the Sacramento Fire Department fought 85 fires over a four-mile stretch along the American River between Discovery Park and Cal Expo.

On Tuesday along the American River Parkway, KCRA 3 discovered a wide array of tents, camping gear and even barbecue grills in open display.

Sacramento County park rangers on patrol told one illegal camper to move out. “I just got here,” said the homeless man.

Park rangers last year discovered more than 1,100 illegal campsites and issued 756 citations.

More at KCRA.com >>>

Bike Trail, Fire, safety, Wildlife

Intentional fires will be set near Cal Expo burn area

A series of wildland fires will return to the same area of the American River Parkway where a massive blaze burned last year on July 4.

The fires will be intentionally set in the area near Cal Expo as part of a multi-agency fire training session.

Fire officials are getting the word out about the potential for smoky conditions to avoid a flood of calls that would likely be made to 911 operators.

If the conditions are not too windy, the first training fire is scheduled to begin Tuesday morning, a Sacramento City Fire Department spokesman said.

More at KCRA.com >>>

Bike Trail, Events, Rafting, safety

Rafters get creative during Memorial Day alcohol ban

Sunday is the warmest day this month and hundreds of people are cooling off along the American River.

Sacramento County park rangers are busy enforcing a strict ban on booze. Despite plenty of signage, some people tried sneaking in beer, wine and even non-alcoholic glass bottles — all of which are not allowed.

“People can get very creative when they hide the alcohol,” said Chris Kemp, a park ranger sergeant. “We’ve had them in coolers with false bottoms. We’ve had them hidden in backpacks, inside of Camelback pouches on their bodies in various places in different types of containers so we know what to look for,” Kemp said.

Partygoers caught in the act were given the option of taking their contraband back to their cars or watching rangers pour it out. Getting caught with booze this weekend could lead to a $100 citation.

The 10 rangers on patrol were determined to keep people on the American River safe from drowning and vigilant in enforcing the message that alcohol and water just don’t mix.

“Yeah, I think it’s probably a good thing to keep everybody safe out here,” said Andrew Ray, a kayaker from San Francisco.

For Billy Balogh of Roseville, the no-alcohol rule makes for a better family experience for his 8-year-old daughter Alexandra.

“I think it’s a good idea,” Balogh said. “Nobody’s going to fall in the water. People are going to be more aware and keep an eye on things going on in the water. And it’s just safe overall for everybody.”

But not everybody is enamored with the ban on booze.

“I mean I feel I can handle myself responsibly, drinking a couple of beers on a hot Memorial Day weekend,” said Diana Takla, a rafter from Walnut Creek. “I don’t know what the problem is.”
“With alcohol intoxication it lowers your threshold for tolerating hypothermia,” Kemp said. ”

“People when they drink a lot of alcohol, they can hit the water and become very disoriented and very hypothermic, and it leads to a lot more drownings. And we don’t want to see that out here,” Kemp said.

Meanwhile rafters on the American River are enjoying higher water flows, thanks to bigger releases from Folsom Lake.

More at KCRA.com >>>

Bike Trail, Fire, safety, Wildlife

County prepares American River Parkway for busy fire season

Sacramento County is preparing the American River Parkway for what could be a busy fire season.

Park staff are mapping, painting and testing all the fire hydrants in the parkway. Fire breaks are being cleared and the trees trimmed to improve access for fire vehicles.

The staff is also mapping and painting all the gates to their parks.

It’s all an effort to help manage the fire risk.

“The quicker we can access it the quicker we can get water on the fire or start putting a line around the fire, to control it earlier,” said Michelle Eidam, a captain with Sac Metro Fire.

“If a fire is growing quickly and it’s moving fast, it’s putting the people and homes around here in huge danger,” Eidam said. “Every second really counts to get to the fire get contained and get in check before it does reach homes or businesses.”

More at KCRA.com >>>

Bike Trail, History, Wildlife

See A Feathery Dozen Near The American River

With its bike trails, horse trails and footpaths through unspoiled forests and parkland and along stretches of both rocky and sandy riverbanks, the American River Parkway is an inspired choice to walk, run, fish and ride your bike for miles and miles in natural surroundings.

But it’s also a great place to simply slow down and look around, taking stock of the natural world in many ways.

Wildlife to see includes graceful deer, cunning coyotes, industrious beavers, pesky ground squirrels and, yes, cold-blooded rattlesnakes that slither through rocks and grasses – and occasionally across the bike trail – in search of a pint-sized, warm-blooded meal.

Every so often, a mountain lion creates a stir by wandering onto the property and, more often than not, just as quickly disappearing into more remote areas.

In many ways, however, it is the vibrant, eclectic bird life that defines the parkway with music and color. Some birds forage. Some hunt. Some are hunted. They come in small, medium, large and extra large. They are cute and scary. They whistle. They sing. They honk. They squawk.

What follows is a list of 12 birds to go see and appreciate. Argue if you will about which birds we didn’t include. There is no better time to get out there and see the birds. The weather is not yet hot. The days are long. And many of the birds are mating and nesting.

Just last weekend we spotted the first mother goose of the season leading her family of fuzzy little goslings across the bike trail. In the days ahead, you’re apt to witness the same thing with wild turkeys and, in a much different and speedier way, California quail.

More at SacBee.com >>>
Bike Trail, Boating, Events, Fish, Rafting, safety, Salmon, Water, Wildlife

American River Parkway Spring Clean Up Is Set For This Saturday

There’s still time to volunteer to work at The Annual American River Parkway Spring Clean Up.

For the 9th year in a row, a spring clean-up of the 23-mile American River Parkway will happen this Saturday, April 11.

“With the water levels so low we have access to so much of the riverbed where so much trash is and if we can help remove that when it does rain and we get a normal precipitation the waterways will not be dirty.”-Dianna Poggetto with the American River Parkway Foundation says.

Poggetto says it goes from 9 to Noon and they’ll provide food and water:

More at KFBK.com >>>

Bike Trail, Boating, Fire, Fish, Rafting, safety, Salmon, Water, Wildlife

Governor Issues Mandatory Water Cuts As California Snowpack Hits Record Low

Standing in a dry brown meadow that typically would be buried in snow this time of year, Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday ordered the first mandatory water cutbacks in California history, a directive that will affect cities and towns statewide.

With new measurements showing the state’s mountain snowpack at a record low, officials said California’s drought is entering uncharted territory and certain to extend into a fourth straight year. As a result, Brown issued sweeping new directives to reduce water consumption by state residents, including a mandatory 25 percent cut in urban water use.

On Wednesday, Brown attended a routine snow survey at 6,800 feet in the Sierra Nevada, near Echo Summit on Highway 50 along the road to Lake Tahoe. The April 1 survey is an annual ritual, marking the end of the winter season, in which automated sensors and technicians in the field strive to measure how much water the state’s farms and cities will receive from snowmelt.

The measurements showed the snowpack at just 5 percent of average for April 1, well below the previous record low of 25 percent, which was reached last year and in 1977.

California’s mountain snowpack is crucial to determining summer supplies, normally accounting for at least 30 percent of total fresh water available statewide. The poor snowpack means California reservoirs likely already have reached peak storage and will receive little additional runoff from snowmelt, an unusual situation.

“We’re standing on dry grass, and we should be standing in five feet of snow,” Brown said. “We’re in an historic drought, and that demands unprecedented action.”

Brown’s executive order directs California’s more than 3,000 urban water providers to collectively cut their water use by 25 percent compared with 2013. The State Water Resources Control Board is expected to impose the new restrictions by mid-May, setting a different target for each agency depending on how much water its customers use per capita and conservation progress since last year.

More at SacBee.com >>>
Bike Trail, Boating, Rafting, safety, Water

American River Parkway Life Vest Stations Open Two Months Early

The Sacramento region’s current run of unseasonably warm weather has prompted the American River Parkway Foundation to launch its Kids Don’t Float life vest program two months early.

The foundation announced that it began providing life vest stations at several locations along the parkway Monday.

The Kids Don’t Float program allows individuals to borrow a life jacket while enjoying the Sacramento area’s waterways. In 2008, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors adopted an ordinance requiring life preservers to access public waters within the county. The ordinance specifies that it is unlawful for parents to permit children younger than 13 years old to enter public waters unless the child is wearing a life preserver. Violation of the ordinance is punishable by a fine of $500 and/or six months in jail.

More at SacBee.com >>>

Bike Trail, Fish, Rafting, safety, Salmon, Water, Wildlife

City Of Folsom Smokes Out Sewer Leaks

With coffee cup in hand, Dan Oldham calmly watched a thick stream of white smoke rising from a pipe on the roof of his Folsom home Tuesday morning – a sight that normally would have sent him hurrying to call the Fire Department.

Oldham had been warned by the city of Folsom that his house would be included in a program that uses smoke to test the soundness of the sewers. The smoke testing reveals where cracks exist in sewer lines, or where a homeowner has illegally hooked up gutters into the sewer system.

“When people take their downspouts and connect those directly to the sewer, rainwater goes directly to the sewer, and we don’t want that,” said Todd Eising, environmental and water resources manager with the city of Folsom.

Stormwater flowing into the sewer system eats up valuable capacity and can potentially lead to raw sewage spills. It also costs money to treat and convey that extra water.

The smoke testing is simple. Workers open a manhole and attach a lawnmower-sized engine. It powers a fan that blows vaporized water into the sewer system. The water is harmless, more condensation than smoke.

The most noxious part of the process stays at the street, in the form of the smoke that sputters out of the engine at the manhole cover.

In order not to alarm residents, the city alerted homeowners two weeks prior to testing, said Eising.

Some of the homeowners spilled into the street Tuesday to watch smoke trail out of their pipes. “I’m glad they’re doing it,” said Oldham. “I just don’t want any smoke inside my house.”

It takes less than half a minute for the smoke to travel underground from the manhole cover and emerge from a home’s vent pipe. The vents, located on roofs, are part of standard home design. They work with the sewage system to make sure changes in water pressure in the house don’t suck in sewer gases or smells, Eising said.

Smoke rarely enters the home, unless there is a leak – or the homeowner has tied into the system illegally.

Folsom’s sewage collection system consists of more than 267 miles of sewer pipe and nine pump stations. The smoke testing costs the city between $2,000 and $2,500 for each mile of pipe.

The entire system was smoke-tested between 2002 and 2006, said Eising. This year, the city is testing in phases. It’s the kind of testing that feels like it never ends, he said. Once all the 17 basins have been tested, it’s not long until the city needs to start testing again.

Smoke testing also has been employed by such cities as Berkeley and Santa Rosa.

Eising said the testing is part of Folsom’s commitment to water quality – an issue that dogged the city in the past. Between 1995 and 2000, the city had several overflows of raw sewage into the American River and the Folsom South Canal.

The largest overflow occurred in 2000, when the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board fined the city $700,000 after a spill sent 700,000 gallons of sewage into the American River.

More at SacBee.com >>>