As smoke from the Gate fire billowed over the hill behind Wick Alexander’s home in Dulzura, he sat at his computer and punched out yet another email.

“When will the ban begin? Will it take another loss of life?” he wrote.

It was similar to the email he wrote in April, calling for several nearby spots on Bureau of Land Management properties to be closed to target shooting, fearing a bullet would start a fire.

All of Alexander’s many emails during the last five years made the same plea: Shut them down.


On May 20, a fire broke out at a popular shooting spot on BLM land dubbed “Pink Gate” for the pastel fence that blocks vehicle traffic into the area. Cal Fire has not officially determined the cause of the fire, but a witness posted a video that seemed to show a group of nearby shooters accidentally starting it.

Called the Gate fire, it charred more than 2,000 acres and prompted hundreds to evacuate a busy Jamul campground, and the community of Dulzura.

It was the latest incident to stoke a years-long battle between some residents and federal authorities over whether a number of BLM properties in those communities should be permanently closed off to target shooters.

“The Gate fire was really the last straw,” said county Supervisor Dianne Jacobs, who has long advocated for the spot to be closed. “Enough’s enough. We need action before something really bad happens.”


A dozen fires have started in the Marron Valley and Sycamore Canyon areas between 2011 and 2015, nine of them caused by shooters, according to BLM spokeswoman Samantha Storms.

Each one costs tens of thousands of dollars to extinguish. Cal Fire records show three fires caused by shooting in the area in 2012 and 2013 racked up nearly $200,000 in costs.

So why not just close off the Pink Gate?

Because there are many people who go there for recreational shooting or hunting and don’t want to see it close. And Storms said the federal government would be required to go through a lengthy process to permanently ban shooting there.


The debate isn’t unique to the backwoods of San Diego County. It crops up wherever backyards butt up against BLM land, and where the paths of hikers and mountain bikers intersect with target shooters.

Alexander said while safety concerns are high on the list, there are other problems associated with the spots. Shooters can also damage the surrounding ecosystem by sending bullets into trees, and by leaving piles of trash in the area.

He regularly cleans up areas used for shooting and has found everything from bullet casings to shot up appliances.

“It’s like living in a war zone,” he said.


Residents who use the space argue there may be less of an issue if more of BLM’s properties were easier to access. Bobby Mathews has been hunting near Pink Gate for 15 years. He said some of the problems that now plague the area could be addressed with better education.

“If they aren’t shooting there, they’ll just shoot somewhere else,” he said. “You can’t close it all, and without better education, you’ll just have the same problems somewhere else.”

Most residents seem to agree something needs to be done about the spot, said Hannah Gbeh, who is on the Jamul Dulzura Community Planning Group.

She said she’s heard from people on both sides of the issue. While gun rights and having a place to exercise that right is important to many who live out east, no one is blind to the devastation a wildfire can cause, she said.


“I don’t know what the solution is, but it’s a serious safety concern,” she said.

The issue is set to be discussed at the group’s next meeting on June 13.

Storms said the agency has made a concerted effort over the years to come up with short-term solutions that would help keep the area safe, while keeping it accessible to those who use it.

Those measures included introducing a seasonal closure between June and December. On Friday, BLM announced federal lands will be closed to target shooting in San Diego County until the end of fire season — several days earlier than its usual restriction.


The agency filled a long-vacant ranger position and is better collaborating with local law enforcement partners like the Sheriff’s Department and the Border Patrol to help enforce the area, Storms said.

She explained a number of steps need to take place before access to public land is blocked, and that local officials had not yet decided if that is the appropriate course of action.

Jacobs said those short-term solutions are starting to sound like excuses. She said she’s had a number of meetings with the federal agency, including two this year, and has seen little to no progress toward a closure.

Jacobs has sent a number of letters to the federal agency in recent years. Her most recent was sent on Wednesday, addressed to the U.S. Department of Interior.


“As far as I’m concerned, the BLM is responsible for the Gate fire and any other fires that start there for their refusal to take action — to do the right thing.”

Twitter: @LAWinkley


(619) 293-1546

lyndsay.winkley@sduniontribune.com