With temperatures and fire danger expected to soar over Labor Day weekend, officials prepared by ordering the states utilities to halt afternoon and evening shutdowns for routine maintenance, and closing dozens of popular parks, recreation and wilderness areas in the East Bay on Sunday and Monday, excluding picnickers and hikers.<\/p>\n
Cal ISO, which oversees the states power grid, extended restrictions banning regular maintenance operations that would require shutdowns until Thursday. The restrictions apply from noon to 10 p.m. daily.<\/p>\n
Among the 40 East Bay Regional Park District properties shutting for the two days are among those heavily used by picnickers and hikers Tilden, Wildcat Canyon, Anthony Chabot, Redwood, Sibley and Roberts.<\/p>\n
The park districts fire chief ordered the parks most of them in the parched hills or eastern reaches of Alameda and Contra Costa counties because the risk of wildfires is expected to rise to dangerous levels as the temperatures climb as high as 110 degrees in some areas.<\/p>\n
The cities or Walnut Creek and Concord have also closed their city open spaces Lime Ridge, Shell Ridge, Sugarloaf, Borges Ranch, Howe Homestead, and Acalanes Ridge in Walnut Creek and Lime Ridge and the open space areas within Newhall Community Park until Sept. 6 when the extreme heat warnings are expected to be lifted. The closures, which started Thursday, followed the recommendation of the Contra Costa Fire Protection District.<\/p>\n
While the hotter, drier parks will be closed, all of the East Bay Regional Park Districts cooler shoreline parks will be open for those hoping to escape the heat. So will six swimming facilities.<\/p>\n
Anthony Chabot (except for its campground)<\/p>\n
Bishop Ranch<\/p>\n
Black Diamond Mines<\/p>\n
Briones Regional Park<\/p>\n
Brushy Peak<\/p>\n
Claremont Canyon<\/p>\n
Contra Loma<\/p>\n
Crockett Hills<\/p>\n
Diablo Foothills<\/p>\n
Dublin Hills<\/p>\n
Five Canyons<\/p>\n
Garin\/ Dry Creek Pioneer<\/p>\n
Huckleberry<\/p>\n
Kennedy Grove<\/p>\n
Lake Chabot<\/p>\n
Las Trampas<\/p>\n
Leona Canyon<\/p>\n
Mission Peak<\/p>\n
Morgan Territory<\/p>\n
Nejedly Staging Area located in Carquinez Strait<\/p>\n
Ohlone Wilderness<\/p>\n
Pleasanton Ridge<\/p>\n
Reinhardt Redwood<\/p>\n
Roberts<\/p>\n
Round Valley<\/p>\n
Shadow Cliffs<\/p>\n
Sibley<\/p>\n
Sobrante Ridge<\/p>\n
Sunol<\/p>\n
Sycamore Valley<\/p>\n
Tilden<\/p>\n
Tilden Nature Area<\/p>\n
Tilden Botanic Garden<\/p>\n
Vargas Plateau<\/p>\n
Waterbird<\/p>\n
Wildcat Canyon<\/p>\n
Antioch Oakley Shoreline<\/p>\n
Ardenwood Historic Farm<\/p>\n
Bay Point<\/p>\n
Big Break<\/p>\n
Carquinez Strait<\/p>\n
Coyote Hills<\/p>\n
Crown Beach<\/p>\n
Dumbarton Quarry Campground<\/p>\n
Hayward Shoreline<\/p>\n
Judge John Sutter<\/p>\n
Martin Luther King Jr.<\/p>\n
McLaughlin East Shore State Park<\/p>\n
Miller Knox<\/p>\n
Oyster Bay<\/p>\n
Point Isabel<\/p>\n
Point Pinole<\/p>\n
Radke Martinez<\/p>\n
Castle Rock Pool<\/p>\n
Cull Canyon<\/p>\n
Don Castro<\/p>\n
Lake Del Valle<\/p>\n
Lake Temescal<\/p>\n
Quarry Lakes<\/p>\n
Michael Cabanatuan (he\/him) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com<\/a> Twitter: @ctuan<\/p>\n <\/p>\n See the article here:<\/p>\n