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THE LONG MARCH | Illegal immigrants now trek through once-pristine East (San Diego) County wilderness
David Harpster - STAFF WRITER
12-May-1996 Sunday

PINE CREEK NATIONAL WILDERNESS (San Diego, CA) -- Los Pinos Mountain towers over this wooded preserve, a popular refuge for world-weary hikers seeking a few hours of solitude amid the oaks and shimmering streams.

Here, people are considered fleeting visitors, who must obtain permits and  obey strict rules while traveling through the rugged landscape that brims with wildlife.

In recent months, however, a wave of illegal immigrants cascading through the Pine Creek Wilderness and other parts of the Cleveland National Forest has damaged sections of once-unspoiled land.

The evidence is seemingly everywhere.

Countless numbers of discarded water jugs and plastic trash bags have turned many areas into garbage dumps. Migrants have beaten dozens of trails up and down hillsides, scarring the earth. Untended campfires that have already touched off several small blazes pose a tremendous fire risk this summer, rangers say.

"I've been in this business 22 years, and this is the worst thing I've ever seen happen to a forest," said Joe McNally, a law enforcement officer for the Cleveland's Descanso District, whose southern boundary straddles the Mexican border.

It's not just the terrain that is suffering from the surge of illegal immigrants, who are descending on the forest in record numbers as Operation Gatekeeper pushes them away from urban areas and deeper into the back country.

Campers and backpackers have reported thefts of food, sleeping bags and clothing from their coolers and tents, according to authorities. Rangers have posted warnings at trail heads and campgrounds urging hikers to use caution when out in the wild.

Residents of Japatul Valley, Descanso, Mount Laguna and neighboring towns complain loudly about problems accompanying an increase in immigrant smuggling through their tranquil communities ever since Operation Gatekeeper was launched in late 1994.

"It's completely out of control," said Charlotte Frye, whose secluded Skye Valley Ranch in the Cleveland National Forest lies within a well-traveled migration corridor.

"We get 50, 75 and 100 of them a day funneling through our property," Frye said. "Our house has been ransacked, our horse trailer's been broken into and are barns have been slept in. They're invading us."

'A losing battle'

Gatekeeper's strategy is to push the illegal immigrant traffic out of the traditional routes near Imperial Beach and San Ysidro by concentrating Border Patrol agents on that part of the border. Officials expect the plan will eventually force illegal immigrants to use routes outside the 66-mile San Diego sector.

The numbers tell the story. In 1994, U.S. Border Patrol agents made 20,000 apprehensions in the 20-mile-long border between Otay Mesa and Tecate. Last year, arrests jumped to 51,000.

In the Boulevard area -- one of the first communities illegal immigrants reach after crossing illegally into the United States -- apprehensions skyrocketed to 39,000 last year from 2,200 in 1994.

Based on data collected from sensors installed along heavily used trails, the Forest Service estimates that 3,000 to 5,000 illegal immigrants are scattered throughout the Cleveland's southern section at any given time.

Bus passes found littering the ground indicate that many enter through the Tecate area and scramble into the Cleveland along newly cut trails.

Under cover of thick chaparral and steep canyons, groups led by guides make an arduous three-day hike over 15 to 20 miles of trails through the Hauser and Pine Creek wilderness areas.

Their destination: established staging areas along Japatul Valley Road and Lyons Valley Road, where they bed down while waiting for rides to the north, McNally said.

It's a constant struggle for understaffed Forest Service officers, who turned over more than 3,000 illegal immigrants to the Border Patrol between February and April, including a group of 70 people rounded up in the Hauser Wilderness one day in March.

Just two full-time law enforcement officers patrol the 174,000-acre Descanso District, forcing authorities to rely on temporary personnel from national forests across the country to help stem the tide.

The shortage has spurred Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-El Cajon, to ask a House appropriations subcommittee to boost funding for Forest Service law enforcement next fiscal year.

"Right now it's a losing battle on our end," said McNally the other day as his Ford Bronco jostled down a hardpan road near Barrett Lake, a heavily used smuggling area.

'Like Russian roulette'

As officers battle the influx, rangers are trying to assess the ongoing environmental damage and how much it will cost to restore the land, said Cleveland spokeswoman Joan Wynn.

The makeshift trails that grow deeper and wider each day cause severe erosion and destroy valuable watershed, she said.

Groups of immigrants also trample meadows and sensitive plants, and foul streambeds with excrement. Piles of cans and bottles litter the ground.

"It may take us a years to pick up the trash and repair the erosion and illegal trails," Wynn said.

Despite the heavy toll on the environment, it is the fire danger that worries rangers the most.

Forest Service crews routinely discover smoldering campfires along trails and pick-up points, said Bill Molumby, battalion chief for the Descanso District. The illegal fires, built in dense brush that hasn't burned since 1970, are ticking time bombs.

"When the wind picks up, it's like Russian roulette," Molumby said.

So far, a handful of blazes have been touched off by such campfires. Fortunately, firefighters have quickly extinguished them before they spread beyond several acres, he said.

"The problem will be when we get two, three or four of them at a time," Molumby said. "We'll be very stretched. It's going to present a unique challenge for us."

'They have no idea'

While fire chiefs map out a strategy to deal with the threat, they also remain concerned over the peril that wildfires pose for illegal immigrants.

Five people believed to be illegal immigrants were trapped and died in a 9,860-acre fire that burned near Tecate last year, Molumby noted.

Besides the fire hazard, illegal immigrants also face dehydration, hypothermia and other hardships while making the difficult trek through the forest. Rangers, who regularly carry extra water and candy bars when out on patrol, are frequently flagged down by exhausted illegal immigrants seeking food and liquids.

"Most of that country is really, really rough," Wynn said. "Some of these folks have no idea what they're going to experience when they come across."

Dennis Sherman learned that harsh reality over the winter when he came across two large groups of illegal immigrants atop Mount Laguna. Sherman, chief of the hamlet's volunteer fire department, loaded them into his pickup truck, took them to the local fire station and notified the Border Patrol.

"Some of them were just wearing T-shirts and it was down in the 20s," he recalled.

Volunteer firefighters are occasionally called out to aid injured illegal immigrants, who have begun to travel over Mount Laguna to avoid the nearby Interstate 8 checkpoint, Sherman said.

"From a fire department standpoint, our concern is their safety," he said. "I don't hold bad feelings against the immigrants themselves. I have bad feelings for the smugglers, though. They're the cause of all this."

'People won't cross'

Authorities are counting on the hostile terrain plus an anticipated boost in manpower and equipment to eventually quell the tide. The Border Patrol agrees that the heavy brush offers good hiding places. But agents say that the longer the immigrants are on foot, the greater the chance of them being apprehended. The terrain slows them down, and when additional agents come on board in coming months it will be easier to detect them, according to the Border Patrol.

"Our goal is to make it so difficult, people won't cross," said Border Patrol Agent Jim Pilkington. "We're making illegal immigration much more difficult as time goes on."

Many residents, however, contend that their lives are suffering, as well.

Homeowners have reported a spate of vandalism, break-ins, thefts, and other crimes that they attribute to illegal immigrants. Some say migrant workers knock on their doors asking for water and food. Others worry that recent high-speed chases involving vans and trucks loaded with illegal immigrants are making country roads unsafe.

"There's a lot of frustration going on all over East County," said Tom Wester, a Japatul Valley man who has helped organize yesterday's public meeting with elected officials and law enforcement agents in Descanso Town Hall.

"It's overwhelming what's going on," Wester said. "They just want their communities peaceful and quiet again."

Sheriff's Department statistics point to a sharp rise in property crimes in a 300-square-mile area along state Route 94 between Jamul and Jacumba.

More than 100 burglaries were reported in the area last year, up from 57 in 1994. Motor vehicle thefts rose from 24 in 1994 to 63 last year.

Sheriff's officials cautioned, however, that there is no way to tell for certain whether illegal immigrants are responsible for the increase.

Pilkington acknowledged locals' concerns, but added that agents are encouraged by signs that their efforts are paying off.

The checkpoint on Route 94 near Dulzura, established in June 1995, has all but eliminated that road as a major smuggling route, he said. In April alone, agents at the Interstate 8 station apprehended more than 3,100 undocumented workers.

Meanwhile, smuggling fees have tripled in some cases to $1,000. Many guides refuse to bring over women or children because of the hazards involved, Pilkington said.

"The window of apprehension has increased tenfold," Pilkington said.

"We definitely have our hands full out there," he added. "But is there relief in sight? Absolutely. I think the light is now visible at the end of the tunnel."

Copyright Union-Tribune Publishing Co.

*Location and bold-type in article added for clarification. See actual San Diego Union-Tribune archived article.