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 The following is an excerpt printed on January 14, 2004 in Section B of The Bakersfield Californian
First, the thump thump thump boomed over the brown mountains of this state park. Then the huge Huey helicopter appeared, a silhouette in the distance. And under it, attached by a long steel cable, hung half a car. The state cleared eight old, mangled vehicles out of the eastern Kern desert park on Wednesday, flying them out by helicopter because they couldn't get to them any other way.
"The canyon walls are so steep, and some are 300 feet deep, you couldn't get a tow truck in there," said Frank Simpson, assistant director for public affairs for California Integrated Waste Management Board, who headed the cleanup. Some of the cars had been there for at least 40 years and others had arrived maybe five years ago.  They were torched, dismantled and bullet-ridden. "Who knows if they were stolen vehicles or insurance fraud, but at least we got that junk out of there," Simpson said. The cleanup didn't start Wednesday. The Waste Management Board had been negotiating with the state parks department on the project for about three years. Then it took three months to get the permits to start work, Simpson said.
Finally, Bakersfield general contractor Guinn Construction sent crews to the park Monday to start preparing for the lifts, said Jeff Affonso, project manager for Guinn. The total cleanup bill will run $125,000, Simpson said. Workers will remove abandoned vehicles, mining equipment and other trash. Red Rock Canyon is a 28,000-acre desert state park at the eastern edge of Kern County, about 25 miles northeast of Mojave on Highway 14. Off-road drivers, rockhounds, hikers and campers visit the park for its wildlife, towering rock formations, Kawaiisu Indian petroglyphs and long, winding trails. Some locals are thrilled with the cleanup. "Good for them," said geologist and rockhound Ron Bolyard, who lives in Onyx.  "I hate to see trash thrown on public and private property. Cars are even worse," he added. Ron Schiller, chairman of High Desert Multiple Use Coalition, a group of rockhounds, hunters, horse riders, jeep drivers and nudists, said he was glad to hear the park was getting tidied up.
But sometimes it is appropriate to leave cars lying around, he said. "An old junker car is an old junker car until it's been there for some time, and then becomes a historical example," he said. But these probably aren't old enough to be historical, he said. Cleanup workers reported the oldest car was probably a '57 Buick truck. Other vehicles were much newer. Some mining equipment was old enough to leave for historical value, Simpson said. The state park department has been asking for the cleanup for about 10 years, Simpson said.
Waste management officials said the state has tried before, but tow trucks couldn't get in. At other times, the state just lacked money or expertise. The car removal will help keep the public safe and "return the park to its pristine condition," officials said. The Waste Management Board is one of six boards and departments within the California Environmental Protection Agency.
By DAVID HUNN
Californian staff writer
e-mail: dhunn@bakersfield.com
Photographs provided by Guinn Construction
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