{"id":438348,"date":"2026-08-20T13:06:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T13:06:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/438348\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T13:06:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T13:06:08","slug":"restoring-levels-at-hodges-and-other-dams-could-prevent-a-fire-disaster-san-diego-union-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/438348\/","title":{"rendered":"Restoring levels at Hodges and other dams could prevent a fire disaster \u2013 San Diego Union-Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"

Re \u201cFuture of Lake Hodges Dam in limbo as costs, needs clash\u201d (Aug. 9<\/a>): David Garrick\u2019s report shows that Lake Hodges may remain in limbo for years while officials debate a permanent dam solution. That delay creates another serious public safety risk. The exposed lake bed now supports extensive dry vegetation where a wildfire could move rapidly toward nearby homes and communities.<\/p>\n

San Diego should urgently evaluate returning Lake Hodges to the former 295-foot operating level as a carefully monitored interim measure. Doing so could reduce exposed vegetation, restore part of the lake\u2019s historic function as a firebreak, improve emergency water access and preserve a valuable local water supply.<\/p>\n

Dam safety matters, but responsible risk management requires comparing all credible hazards. Residents deserve an independent, transparent analysis of dam failure, wildfire and the consequences of leaving the reservoir depleted for another decade. Maintaining the current condition is itself a decision, with potentially serious costs. The 295-foot option deserves immediate consideration before another fire season.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Daniel Smith, Escondido<\/p>\n

Lake Hodges acted as an effective firebreak during the 2007 Witch Creek Fire, something it cannot do now due the current mandated water level. The lake bed is now covered in flammable tinder which cannot be cut back due to its protected status.<\/p>\n

The statement<\/a> made by city spokesperson Jennifer McBride is definitely in error, as the corridor in question is overgrown with flammable materials for which the city and state have no plan. Helicopter flights are limited by wind speed, smoke and darkness. We need to let the water rise with El Ni\u00f1o and build a new dam.<\/p>\n

\u2014 John S. Anshus,\u00a0Escondido<\/p>\n

It\u2019s very frustrating to see the way San Diego and California allocate their resources. With limited budgets, there ought to be a set of clear priorities. To me, water is a super important resource, and just like Lake Hodges being squandered, what about Lake El Capitan? This lake is a jewel, and when it was full a few years ago, for some reason then, and only then, was the dam declared in poor shape, and much of the water was let out \u2014 so much we wanted to ride a kayak on the river that was temporarily created. Now that the water is super low \u2014 too low to launch a boat \u2014 please fix it! And this year we are teased about big rains. What a colossal waste to get rain and not be able to keep it.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Clif Quinn, Blossom Valley<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Re \u201cFuture of Lake Hodges Dam in limbo as costs, needs clash\u201d (Aug. 9): David Garrick\u2019s report shows…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":438349,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[1564,975,74,76,75],"class_list":["post-438348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-letters-to-the-editor","tag-opinion","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/438348","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=438348"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/438348\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/438349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=438348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=438348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=438348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}