Hill Fire destroys large portion of Camarillo Grove Park

The Hill Fire is almost completely contained, but the damage control is now in full effect.

The Hill Fire damaged a large portion of the Camarillo Grove Park. All of the structures at the park site survived, but the trail did not. The fire scorched over 1 mile and 3 quarters of the trail, the playground equipment melted, and a portion of the dog park was destroyed.

Just last year the park received a grant to remodel the trail, and now they are back at square one. Starting Thursday, Nov. 15 through the weekend, the Pleasant Valley Recreation Park will start the recovery process from the fire, but also prepare for the rain.

“Since the fire, one of the things that we know is the potential of rain,” said Mary Otten, manager at Pleasant Valley Recreation Park District. “We are now trying to shore up some of the hills so Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday we are calling for action for volunteers to come between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. to help us sandbag and help get debris out of the drains, so when the water and rain does come that we can hope to keep part of the trail intact.”

The park’s trees now need to be inspected to see which trees are safe, and which ones need to come down. The park is closed and will remain closed for at least four to five months.