Toro Park reopens to public

UPDATE 11/11/2016 5 PM:

After a nearly four month closure, Toro County Park is open again. The 4,756 acre park was closed to the public this summer when it served as a base camp for thousands of personnel battling the Soberanes Fire.

The crews have since left, but some of the damage remains. The county made some initial repairs and now, officials believe it is safe enough to reopen to visitors.

On Friday, KION found quite few people enjoying the return of hiking, biking and barbecuing at the park.

“Just taking a hike, enjoying Veterans’ Day, enjoying the park being back open again,” said Amber Domenighini of Salinas.

At the peak of the Soberanes Fire, some 5,000 personnel and all of their equipment were housed at the park. County officials say Toro took a $1 million beating.

“I’m fascinated by the amount of fire equipment they could get in here and that the park was available to them,” Jill Baker said. “I mean, that was what was really fantastic. It was available for other uses.”

Fire crews left in mid-October and parks crews took over, making necessary repairs before the park could reopen. County officials said fences had to be rebuilt, broken sprinkler heads replaced and plumbing fixed.

“The bathrooms were closed when we went by, but we did see some porta potties out there,” Domenighini said.

In fact, some folks hardly noticed anything.

“Looks like things are in really good shape,” Danny Scott said. “Certainly it’s nice that it’s green and there’s some grass out here. Actually, I can hardly tell.”

At the end of the days, folks say they are just happy to have Toro back to themselves.

“Cyclists are riding and everyone’s just having a good time,” Scott said. “It’s really nice that the park is in as good as shape as it’s in, and I’m happy to be out here on Veteran’s Day doing a bit of a tribute ride.”

The county said there are still repairs that need to be made. Officials are still working with the state on costs. Once that’s settled, the county will repair the other parts of the park.

ORIGINAL POST:

Toro Park reopened to the public Friday morning, after being closed and transformed into a firefighting base camp during the Soberanes Fire.

Monterey County officials say the park suffered about $1 million in damages and some areas remain un-repaired while the county and state work out payment details.

Tonight, KION’s Mariana Hicks tours the park and shows us the work that still needs to be done.