Latest news with #TuolumneCounty
Daily Mail
12-07-2025
- Daily Mail
California lakeside oasis is overrun by outsiders
A gorgeous California lakeside oasis has turned into everything but that after being overrun by rowdy and disruptive outsiders causing 'apocalyptic' scenes. Pinecrest Lake, a stunning body of water and outdoor site located in the Sierra Nevada , has long been known as a hotspot for swimming, hiking and camping - but it has turned into somewhat of a warzone in recent years. The 300-acre lake, owned and operated by Pacific, Gas and Electric Company, is tucked away in Tuolumne County's Stanislaus National Forest that has long been visited by tourists and even called home for locals. The locals, who live in cabins at the lake, have noticed a surge in visitation from outsiders since the pandemic, as well as in the summer months and weekends. What they weren't prepared for was what tourists brought with them, including violent fights, drugs, illegal camping, parking, letting dogs roam around free, graffiti-covered bathrooms, among other disturbances. 'Personally, I rarely go to the lake on weekends anymore because we know what a mess it is,' said Martha Geiszler, who owns a cabin near the lake and manages the Friends of Pinecrest Facebook Group, told the San Francisco Chronicle. 'There's very little visitor information given and very little law enforcement presence, so every rule is broken,' she added. Geiszler (pictured) isn't the only one who's noticed the uptick in chaos, as Tuolumne County Supervisor Anaiah Kirk told the outlet: 'There have been some apocalyptic weekends.' Locals and park workers have also had to deal with an influx of traffic, trash, cars parked in fire lanes, and even drownings. In October 2023, a 59-year-old man drowned while swimming in Pinecrest Lake. When officers with the Tuolumne County Sheriff's Office got to the lake, they questioned witnesses and reviewed video footage from the man's boat. It was later determined that the man, Brian Campbell, jumped into the water without a lifejacket on, his friend told police. The friend managed to drag him back to shore after jumping in after him. Medics then performed life-saving measures on Campbell, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. With chaos at an all time high at the lake, the county has set up new measures to try and decrease the troubling behavior. Kirk (pictured) said if those fail to help stop it, he is prepared to implement stricter rules that would make it harder not just for victors, but for locals, to enjoy the area. 'I'm ready to go full-bore and do a lot more things,' Kirk said. 'But we're slowing down and going to implement a few things at a time.' First and foremost, Kirk said the county will crack down on the slew of illegal parking around the lake. Just last summer, a number of emergencies were slowed down due to illegally parked cars lined up along Pinecrest Lake Road, Tuolumne County Sheriff David Vasquez told the outlet. Hundreds of citations were written last year, with most of them related to parking violations, Vasquez added. In March, just before the summer months hit, the Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors approved new parking violation fees for the lake to try to get the problem under control. A $35 ticket has since been hiked up to $100 for the first offense, and $200 for the second. The county has also gone on to install dozens of 'No Parking' signs along Pinecrest Lake Road to deter people from leaving their vehicles on the roadsides. 'People were looking at a $35 citation as an acceptable tradeoff. We need to create a psychological deterrent,' Vasquez said. Kirk, along with other supervisors, is keen about increasing the first offense penalty to $250 if parking issues persist. While staff has tried to crack down on the parking dilemma, furious locals have called for more beach patrols and rule enforcement at the lake. So far this summer, Geiszler said she has seen a lack of staffing at the lake - something she attributes to the recent cuts to federal land workers. Pinecrest Lake is under the supervision of the U.S. Forest Service, an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. President Donald Trump has slashed U.S. Forest Service operations and funding for National Forest management by about $800 million. Shawn Winstead, the district ranger for the Forest Service's Sugar Pine District, said two staffers are assigned to patrol Pinecrest and clean the bathrooms there. Locals, including Geiszler, said that there are not at all enough employees to take care of the area. She recalled the approximately six bathrooms looking 'absolutely disgusting' during Memorial Day Weekend. 'You can't just have one or two people patrolling the beach every weekend with all those people,' she added. According to Vasquez, staffing in his office has increased over the past year and he is making sure his deputies are prioritizing calls from Pinecrest this summer to try and crack down on the mayhem. 'I stand behind everyone's constitutional rights to access that land, but we were receiving astronomical amounts of complaints about overcrowding and illegal parking,' he said. While many locals have brought up implementing restrictions across the park and lake at local town hall meetings, Winstead said the county has not decided on that just yet. 'Right now, we're not looking at restricting access in any way. We're trying to keep everything open for everybody,' he explained. 'But if there were some kind of restriction in that area, we'd have a carrying capacity and that would affect everybody — cabin owners, visitors, everybody.' Kirk said they have also considered bringing in metered parking spaces into the beach area, installing a gated tollbooth at the entrance that would not allow cars in when capacity is reached, and offering a parking shuttle to the beach. 'There are a lot of potentials. We'll have an evaluation after this summer,' Kirk said.
Daily Mail
08-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Gorgeous lakeside paradise is overrun by horribly-behaved outsiders leaving locals outraged
A gorgeous California lakeside oasis has turned into everything but that after being overrun by rowdy and disruptive outsiders causing 'apocalyptic' scenes. Pinecrest Lake, a stunning body of water and outdoor site located in the Sierra Nevada, has long been known as a hotspot for swimming, hiking and camping - but it has turned into somewhat of a warzone in recent years. The 300-acre lake, owned and operated by Pacific, Gas and Electric Company, is tucked away in Tuolumne County's Stanislaus National Forest that has long been visited by tourists and even called home for locals. The locals, who live in cabins at the lake, have noticed a surge in visitation from outsiders since the pandemic, as well as in the summer months and weekends. What they weren't prepared for was what tourists brought with them, including violent fights, drugs, illegal camping, parking, letting dogs roam around free, graffiti-covered bathrooms, among other disturbances. 'Personally, I rarely go to the lake on weekends anymore because we know what a mess it is,' said Martha Geiszler, who owns a cabin near the lake and manages the Friends of Pinecrest Facebook Group, told the San Francisco Chronicle. 'There's very little visitor information given and very little law enforcement presence, so every rule is broken,' she added. Geiszler isn't the only one who's noticed the uptick in chaos, as Tuolumne County Supervisor Anaiah Kirk told the outlet: 'There have been some apocalyptic weekends.' Locals and park workers have also had to deal with an influx of traffic, trash, cars parked in fire lanes, and even drownings. In October 2023, a 59-year-old man drowned while swimming in Pinecrest Lake. When officers with the Tuolumne County Sheriff's Office got to the lake, they questioned witnesses and reviewed video footage from the man's boat. It was later determined that the man, Brian Campbell, jumped into the water without a lifejacket on, his friend told police. The friend managed to drag him back to shore after jumping in after him. Medics then performed life-saving measures on Campbell, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. With chaos at an all time high at the lake, the county has set up new measures to try and decrease the troubling behavior. Kirk said if those fail to help stop it, he is prepared to implement stricter rules that would make it harder not just for victors, but for locals, to enjoy the area. 'I'm ready to go full-bore and do a lot more things,' Kirk said. 'But we're slowing down and going to implement a few things at a time.' First and foremost, Kirk said the county will crack down on the slew of illegal parking around the lake. Just last summer, a number of emergencies were slowed down due to illegally parked cars lined up along Pinecrest Lake Road, Tuolumne County Sheriff David Vasquez told the outlet. Hundreds of citations were written last year, with most of them related to parking violations, Vasquez added. In March, just before the summer months hit, the Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors approved new parking violation fees for the lake to try to get the problem under control. A $35 ticket has since been hiked up to $100 for the first offense, and $200 for the second. The county has also gone on to install dozens of 'No Parking' signs along Pinecrest Lake Road to deter people from leaving their vehicles on the roadsides. 'People were looking at a $35 citation as an acceptable tradeoff. We need to create a psychological deterrent,' Vasquez said. Kirk, along with other supervisors, are keen about increasing the first offense penalty to $250 if parking issues persist. While staff has tried to crack down on the parking dilemma, furious locals have called for more beach patrols and rule enforcement at the lake. So far this summer, Geiszler said she has seen a lack of staffing at the lake - something she attributes to the recent cuts to federal land workers. Pinecrest Lake is under the supervision of the U.S. Forest Service, an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. President Donald Trump has slashed U.S. Forest Service operations and funding for National Forest management by about $800 million. Shawn Winstead, the district ranger for the Forest Service's Sugar Pine District, said two staffers are assigned to patrol Pinecrest and clean the bathrooms there. Locals, including Geiszler, said that there are not at all enough employees to take care of the area. She recalled the approximately six bathrooms looking 'absolutely disgusting' during Memorial Day Weekend. 'You can't just have one or two people patrolling the beach every weekend with all those people,' she added. According to Vasquez, staffing in his office has increased over the past year and he is making sure his deputies are prioritizing calls from Pinecrest this summer to try and crack down on the mayhem. 'I stand behind everyone's constitutional rights to access that land, but we were receiving astronomical amounts of complaints about overcrowding and illegal parking,' he said. While many locals have brought up implementing restrictions across the park and lake at local town hall meetings, Winstead said the county has not decided on that just yet. 'Right now, we're not looking at restricting access in any way. We're trying to keep everything open for everybody,' he explained. 'But if there were some kind of restriction in that area, we'd have a carrying capacity and that would affect everybody — cabin owners, visitors, everybody.' Kirk said they have also considered bringing in metered parking spaces into the beach area, installing a gated tollbooth at the entrance that would not allow cars in when capacity is reached, and offering a parking shuttle to the beach. 'There are a lot of potentials. We'll have an evaluation after this summer,' Kirk said.
CBS News
20-06-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
Camino Fire near Don Pedro Reservoir in Tuolumne County burns 100 acres
Cal Fire said a 100-acre wildfire is burning at a dangerous rate near Don Pedro Reservoir in Tuolumne County. According to Cal Fire's incident page, the Camino Fire started around 12:20 p.m. on the western side of the reservoir. The Tuloumne County Sheriff's Office said the fire is near Camino Road in the La Grange and Don Pedro roads area. "If you live in the area and do not feel safe, please leave, do not wait to be told to evacuate," the sheriff's office said. No evacuations have been issued at this time. Check back for updates.
CBS News
28-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
Suspect at large after high-speed chase in Tuolumne County on Memorial Day ends in crash
JAMESTOWN – A search is ongoing for a suspect who got away after a high-speed chase ended in a crash in Tuolumne County on Memorial Day, the California Highway Patrol said. Around 10 p.m. on Monday, a CHP officer stopped a driver who they say was speeding on eastbound Highway 108, west of Green Springs Road — located about 35 miles northeast of Modesto near the Red Hills Recreational Management Area. But when the officer ran a check on the driver's license and license plate, the CHP said the driver of the 2025 Nissan Rogue took off. The driver eventually made a U-turn near Chicken Ranch Casino and headed west on Highway 108. Officers said the driver reached speeds "well over 100 mph" and crossed double yellow lines on several occasions. The chase continued onto southbound La Grange Road when the driver sideswiped a 2025 Honda Accord near Cooperstown Road, causing minor injuries to the Accord driver. The crash caused the Nissan to become disabled, and the suspect took off running. Despite help from the Tuolumne County Sheriff's Office canine unit and the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Office helicopter, the CHP said the suspect was not located. The CHP said the suspect has been identified but has not released that information.
