50 Citations Issued to People Using Cedar Creek Falls Since Closure

The Forest Service has issued about 50 citations for violations of the since July.

The falls were temporarily closed after .

In late December, the ASTREA helicopter flew over the area near Ramona and reported approximately 30 individuals at the falls, according to Forest Service spokesman Brian Harris.

"Our law enforcement officers issued 15 citations to those individuals," he said.

The case of who was airlifted out of the falls in December after experiencing chest pains and shortness of breath was being investigated, Harris said this week, but no citation had been issued.

The popular hiking area is due to re-open in April. Meanwhile, the Forest Service and other agencies are researching how to make the area safer for visitors and less costly for rescue teams. Rescues are common, especially each summer, when hikers underestimate the heat of the sun and the energy required to hike back up hill to the trailhead. Agencies have been considering the possibility of a permitting process for visitors.

Harris told Patch late last year that looking at solutions "just takes time."

"We need to work with our partners to make sure that their concerns are taken care of," he said. "They're spending an awful lot of money on every single rescue."

Harris said another factor is that very few areas in the country use permits, so the Forest Service will need to start from the ground up if it decides to develop one for Cedar Creek. It will take time to prepare other agencies for that system, he said.