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Goleta Ranger
updated: Dec 26, 2012, 11:05 AM

By Edhat Subscriber

Does anyone know why the Los Padres Ranger Office in Goleta doesn't answer their phone? Getting local hiking trail closure & condition reports is almost impossible.

When we call the Ojai station, they pick up the phone on the second ring and they admit to having the same problem with the Goleta office. Does anyone have more in-depth info?

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 357432	2012-12-26 11:11 AM
Day after Christmas? Holiday! If it helps rained hard up here last night
COMMENT 357436	2012-12-26 11:20 AM
Can you go knock on their door? Depending on where you are hiking, the trails are likely to be a little muddy with all of the recent rain. We went up Jesusita and then Romero and we were slipping around a bit. Wear good hiking shoes, bring lots of water and snacks, a camera, and leave your cellphone at home (makes getting lost more fun and you aren't tempted to call SaR). Enjoy the hike!
COMMENT 357445	2012-12-26 01:02 PM
Maybe their phones are down. Used to be more of a regular thing when landlines where all the rage. Now the instant gratification of reaching who you want when you want by cell phone has made patience a dying virtue.
COMMENT 357451	2012-12-26 01:58 PM
Work furlough would be my best guess.
COMMENT 357453	2012-12-26 02:07 PM
Try the Los Padres Ranger Office in Santa Barbara. Or the ranger office in Carpinteria.
BURNTTHISTLE	2012-12-26 02:32 PM
Why don't you look on line at their website. That is probably what the person behind the counter at their office would do.
COMMENT 357461	2012-12-26 03:18 PM
When people post like this, I wonder what the back story is. There must be an alternate issue, question or reason for posting here on Edhat.
COMMENT 357471	2012-12-26 04:04 PM
They had caller id???
COMMENT 357484P	2012-12-26 05:18 PM
@447: Why so snarky? How do you know that the OP doesn't have patience? All he/she wanted to know was why the office wasn't open.
COMMENT 357491	2012-12-26 05:35 PM
their job is not to run around and map trail conditions while keeping the office manned to answer phones for every "citizen" who calls because they can't prepare for the worst, get off their butt and go look for themselves.
COMMENT 357513	2012-12-26 06:51 PM
use-or-lose annual leave time.... last moments of enjoyment before fiscal cliff furloughs.
COMMENT 357519	2012-12-26 08:53 PM
The number you're calling is for the entire Los Padres forest, which is a huge area. Call the Santa Barbara Ranger District, whose number is on the website. They always know what's up. After all of the rain we've had, the roads are most likely closed
RED CREEK	2012-12-27 07:53 AM
The answer is ... the Goleta office is closed for the holidays. This information is posted on their website: "This office will be closed Monday, December 24th through Wednesday, December 26th for the Christmas Holiday" www fs usda gov/detail/lpnf/about-forest/offices If you go to the link (replace spaces with dots) the latest alerts, road closings, etc. are also posted.
COMMENT 357551P	2012-12-27 08:08 AM
I glad I didn't have to wait two hours to read the deleted posts. I surely would have missed them. I don't think either of them should have been deleted.
COMMENT 357560	2012-12-27 09:00 AM
The nitpicky and somewhat complicated system of Edhat rules are obviously designed to push users into becoming PAID members. But for these not so subtle manipulations, I would have become a paid subscriber long ago.
SBSURFERLIFE	2012-12-27 09:23 AM
560- It doesn't seem that complicated. The Edhat rules are basically, don't be a jerk. You could always upgrade to support a community resource you appear to frequently enjoy. But that's off-topic, I agree with the consensus, they're probably on vacation or out of the office.
SEEDLADY	2012-12-27 12:22 PM
The Goleta location is the HQ office for the whole of Las Padres Nat'l Forest, which stretches between SB and Monterey. LPNF is divided into five administrative units called "Ranger Districts" with district offices in King City, Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, Ojai and Frazier Park. Here is contact info for the SB Ranger, specifically: SANTA BARBARA RANGER DISTRICT District Ranger: John Smith 3505 Paradise Rd. Santa Barbara, CA 93105 VOICE: (805) 967-3481 FAX: (805) 967-7312 TTY/TDD: (805) 967-7337 Hours: 8:00am - 4:30pm Monday - Saturday (summer hours) Email Jim Lopez ( jlopez at fs dot fed dot us) for Recreation and Visitor Information ************* Santa Lucia Ranger District (for Fig Mtn wildflr info) 1616 No.Carlotti Dr. Santa Maria, CA 93454--Helen Tarbet @ x 246 for fig mtn info Phone: (805) 925-9538 TDD (805) 925-7388 FAX: (805) 961-5781 While there are personnel at the LPNF office in Goleta, staff has taken the time to build a website full of information for forest users pertinent to each of the individual districts, to more efficiently use taxpayer dollars re: inquiries. The front page has a *closure alert* box for any closures within the district. It may not feel as convenient as calling and talking to a live person, but going to the website can be quite informative, well beyond the basic information you might be seeking. Look around the website, then call your local office, but expect to leave a voice mail/receive a return call. Bookmark it and visit often! ;-) http://www.fs.usda.gov/lpnf.

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