Two significant wildfires damaged this area in the last few years.
One was the Station Fire, which was started in 2009 by an arsonist. Two firefighters were killed and more than 160-thousand acres were burned, making it the largest California wildfire of that year.
The other fire was the Sand Fire, which burned 41,432 acres and killed two residents in 2016.
As we were preparing to leave this morning, Just Awesome told me something that horrified me. He said last night after I went to bed, a Korean hiker named Bambi started a big campfire, about 75 to 100 yards from where we were camped.
Just Awesome, Falls, and Captain walked over to talk to Bambi. They wanted to make sure Bambi knew to put out the fire before going to bed. That somewhat relieved me, but I was still shocked to learn someone would start a campfire in this area. The damage from the wildfires was obvious.
More than that, I found this news disturbing because campfires are prohibited unless they are contained within a fire ring in an established campground.
As thru-hikers, we were required to obtain a California burn permit in addition to our permit for the Pacific Crest Trail. Despite its name, the burn permit didn't give permission to build a campfire. It only permitted the use of a propane camp stove. More than anything, the permit was a way to educate hikers about wildfire dangers.