Public Dangers in Angeles Forest

We in the Angeles National Forest would like to express our appreciation for the story by Jeff Meyers (“Forest’s Fatal Toll on Visitors,” Nov. 10) because we need all the help we can get in raising the public’s awareness of potential dangers when visiting the national forest. Your reporter expressed the opinion that “signs equal safety.” Nothing could be further from the truth. To follow the premise that “signs equal safety” is to ignore an individual’s personal responsibility for his or her own actions.

It is a sad fact that alcohol and drug abuse is a mitigating factor in a substantial number of serious or fatal injuries on the forest. The Angeles National Forest has taken steps in many cases to try to reduce the number of accidents related to the volatile mix of recreation and substance abuse. Often these public safety actions are misinterpreted as barriers to recreation opportunities. Moving an access gate to three-quarters of a mile away from a recreation site might be interpreted as a barrier, yet this simple action has cut the accident rate at San Antonio Falls significantly. There have been no recent serious injuries or deaths at this location.

Signs alone will not ensure public safety. It is doubtful that a sign would have prevented a 12-year-old from wandering away from his group camp or discouraged a teen-ager from diving off a waterfall on a dare. Safety is a major concern of the Forest Service. Facts and figures on forest accidents, injuries and fatalities are available from numerous sources. The Forest Service keeps extensive records in the law enforcement system and with the radio dispatcher’s office in Arcadia. In addition, when serious or fatal injuries occur, the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department keeps its own official version of the incident.

Forest Service Law Enforcement Coordinator Chuck Shamblin was misquoted when the story said, “There have been 60-100 accidental deaths at Switzer Falls in the last two decades.” The correct quote is, “There have been 60 to 100 serious accidents or fatalities on the Arroyo Seco Ranger District and about seven serious injuries or deaths at Switzer Falls.” The error was unfortunately compounded when you printed the same misinformation in your editorial “Danger in Them Thar Hills” (Nov. 17).

The Forest Service efforts to promote public safety are well-documented.

No single effort is guaranteed to work alone. As long as there are wild lands so close to an urban area the size of Los Angeles, regretably there will continue to be those who use the land without respect to its inherent dangers. The mission of the Forest Service, “Caring for the land, serving the people,” requires a balance of responsibility, both from agency employee and forest user. MICHAEL J. ROGERS

Forest Supervisor

Angeles National Forest