High-Country Health Food and Cafe in Mariposa California

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'Click' Here to Visit: 'Yosemite Bug Health Spa', Now Open.
'Click' Here to Visit: 'Yosemite Bug Health Spa', Now Open. "We provide a beautiful and relaxing atmosphere. Come in and let us help You Relax"
'Click' for More Info: 'Chocolate Soup', Fine Home Accessories and Gifts, Located in Mariposa, California
'Click' for More Info: 'Chocolate Soup', Fine Home Accessories and Gifts, Located in Mariposa, California
'Click' Here to Visit Happy Burger Diner in Mariposa... "We have FREE Wi-Fi, we're Eco-Friendly & have the Largest Menu in the Sierra"
'Click' Here to Visit Happy Burger Diner in Mariposa... "We have FREE Wi-Fi, we're Eco-Friendly & have the Largest Menu in the Sierra"
'Click' for More Info: Inter-County Title Company Located in Mariposa, California
'Click' for More Info: Inter-County Title Company Located in Mariposa, California

On a quiet residential street in the heart of Mariposa Township are several attractive homes, most of them with well maintained, manicured grounds, some of them with pools and shady patios.  However within close distance SST LTRof these homes some within 20 or 30 feet is an utterly neglected lot, overgrown with dead and dying pines, chaparral, wild wheat residue from many seasons.  No building or structure of any kind stands on this lot, exempting it from stringent fire prevention regulations. Existing homeowners carefully observe the 100 foot clearance regulation without fail, but empty lots are not similarly regulated. 

Within the business district of this same town, along its main thoroughfare, stands a welcoming motel, with colorful flowering planters to beckon visitors, a fenced pool with climbing vines, well marked entrance and parking spaces clean and inviting.  Close by is an empty lot again sans any structure, overgrown with “tree of heaven” sprouts, noxious weeds, untended for many years.  Again, exempt from all safety measures presently in place. 

The town of Mariposa is by no means alone in this neglect, similar circumstances abound throughout the county, and as I understand it, throughout all the rural areas of the State of California.  With one exception, the county of San Bernardino where far stricter fire prevention rules prevail.  All empty lots within populated districts must be cleared regardless.  Not just the present 100 foot clearance of homes or outbuildings, but any structure whether resting upon the owner’s empty ground or not.

Residents of the county of Mariposa have been subject to many fees and regulations, all of them designed to protect from devastating wildfires.  Expensive new state of the art fire equipment has been installed, with garages costing over one million dollars apiece, (the only other county in the State of California that spends such sums are the billionaire estates of Orange County), homes are subjected to inspections and fines if lack of compliance is evident.  Fire prevention workshops, leaflets, lectures and meetings occur throughout the year.  It probably would be a close guess were we to compare the numbers of population against the numbers in our present firefighting forces. 

Yet  in spite of all the outlay, in spite of all the rules, in spite of numbers that make up the fire prevention and fighting personnel, this one simple measure continues to be overlooked.  Are we really “Fire Safe?”  I say NO. 

Lucille Apcar
Mariposa, CA.