Some hikers defying Santa Fe trail closures
May 30—Word of non-urban trails closing in Santa Fe never reached some hikers and was possibly ignored by others.
A local resident took photos Saturday of a packed parking lot at the Dale Ball trails, which were among the hiking paths the city ordered closed as a precaution amid the high winds, warm temperatures and dry conditions that have stoked huge wildfires throughout the state.
The pictures showed the gate open and cars lining both sides of a dirt parking lot in the restricted area.
Resident David B. Crocker, who emailed the photos to The New Mexican, also notified authorities of the people flouting the closure orders at Dale Ball.
"Seems like out of towners and some locals don't care about our worst fire season in history," Crocker wrote in the email. "Let alone how many of us could be killed if they start a fire. The disregard for the community is just confounding and disheartening to me."
City park officials cleared out the hikers from the trailhead area and locked the gate on Saturday, said Santa Fe Police Lt. David Webb.
No one was cited, he added.
The parks' enforcement team had quite a few trailheads to close off and gates to lock, and it hadn't gotten around to this one early Saturday, Webb said.
"Parks is tying up loose ends," Webb said.
Webb said officers will respond to complaints about people violating the temporary hiking bans on trails considered potential fire hazards, but they will be a lesser priority than serious crimes.
In response to wildfire threats, the city closed trails outside the urban area after Santa Fe County closed its wooded trails and the U.S. Forest Service barred public access to the Santa Fe, Carson, Cibola and Lincoln national forests.
