A small California town that was swept away by visitors four years ago when heavy winter rains produced a “magnificent bloom” of wild poppies has a message for the public after this year’s flood: Don’t come. You could be arrested.
Poppies are beginning to bloom, but so far on a small scale — and the valley where they grow and parking spaces are now completely off limits, Lake Elsinore Mayor Natasha Johnson said at a news conference where she recounted the 2019 chaos.
“The flowers were beautiful, and the scene was a nightmare,” Johnson said.
Poppies are found across California in the spring and summer, but usually not as widely as the golden blankets that in 2019 covered the cliffs near Lake Elsinore, a city of 71,000 in Riverside County about 60 miles southeast of Los Angeles. Angeles.
The focus of hyper attention has been Walker Canyon, a nature area with a hiking trail located just off Interstate 15.
Gregory Paul/AP
“In 2019, there were many safety incidents on the road and on our roads,” Johnson said. “Tens of thousands of people, up to 100,000 people on a weekend—crowds the size of Disneyland—who seek to experience nature have trampled on and sought to enjoy the natural habitat they had in mind.”
People parked illegally along the highway and neighborhoods were so crowded that parts of the city were essentially cut off, Johnson said, affecting emergency services and the ability of residents to go to shops and work.
People waited for hours in lines to see the valley and many were not prepared for the trek, resulting in casualties.
California Highway Patrol Lt. Craig Palmer said the agency has already begun saturation patrols in the area and that highway shoulders are only for emergency use.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco warned that there will be zero tolerance for parking violations and the result could be a citation, a tow or worse.
“It’s a misdemeanor offense and you risk arrest and detention in jail,” Bianco said.
Lake Elsinore usually welcomes visitors, the mayor said, but the 2019 phenomenon has come at a very high cost to residents.
“This weekend, I encourage you to focus on the Super Bowl and not on the supernatural blooms we don’t have,” she said.
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