Sections: MOTD Apr 18th, 2008 17 Comments 
(Updated) What happens with a full tanked up bike goes over a edge of the heavily forested ravine on the Dragon? Fire. Currently firefighters are battled the blaze which has now spread to around 10 acres. Here’s an excerpt from a local news crew:
Miller said the steep and rocky terrain prevents firefighters from making a direct attack on the fire. They were working to contain it between the highway and the Topoco power line.
Officials said the motorcyclist walked away from the crash.
+ Wildfire Started by Motorcycle Crash / Fox News (via Autoblog)
+ UPDATE: Dragon brush fire fighting effort focuses on containment / WBIR
Ketan Apr 18th, 2008 Link
Luckly he walked away from the crash. This could only mean one thing: tighter restriction on the Dragon going forward. Hope this doesn’t put a damer on anyone going to the Dragon this year.
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Jon Apr 18th, 2008 Link
Pretty soon, the entire stretch of the Dragon will be a 20 mile-per-hour school zone, with speed bumps every 50 feet.
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Mowse Apr 18th, 2008 Link
The Dragon. The Dragon. The Dragons on fire. We don’t need no water let the ………………..
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Jon Apr 18th, 2008 Link
I am betting that this will cause once again a higher police presence for a while on the Dragon.
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Eysmahn Apr 18th, 2008 Link
Absolutely, the local five-o were tightening patrols to full on anal retentive levels recently. I can only imagine how much worse it will be now that the enthusiast pressence has triggered a forest fire in a national park, definately not good. Thankfully though the driver was okay, thank goodness for small blessings.
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Jon Apr 18th, 2008 Link
Glad the rider got off the bike and very sad to see the dragon in flames. A very nice area.
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Dr Obnxs Apr 18th, 2008 Link
I live in a recreational area for all things with an engine in Northern California. Almost weekly, there are fatal and near fatal accidents. The “standard drill” is high levels of enforcement at the beginning of “the season” then varying levels of enforcment based on crowds and behaviour. And this is how it should be. If an area has a large upswing in accidents, then increased enforcement should be expected. If the area is calm, then it gets less oversight.
It does seem like the Dragon is getting more and more national attention, and with this one can expect more riders/drivers. I’d expect that this would lead to a higher level of enforcement. Only way to prevent this is if the groups and individuals that use the area self-police and keep things in check.
Glad the guy is OK, too bad about the fire. I hope things calm down so that everyone, locals and visitors alike, can enjoy the area.
Matt
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MaxMCS Apr 18th, 2008 Link
Europe’s got the ‘ring, we’ve got the Dragon… what would happen if the Nurburgring burned to the ground? Hundreds crash there (sometimes violently) every year. It’s just kind of sad to see that our last sort of little piece of perfect motoring is seeing bad times, but I guess it’s to be expected- it’s motorsport.
8-)
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Jon Apr 19th, 2008 Link
The difference is that the Ring while being a public road is allowed to be driven as one sees, meanwhile the issue at the Dragon is there are a great many drivers and riders that are their that are breaking the law and often paying for their lack of driving skills. I would love to see something like the Ring opened here but would be sued after the first accident.
Don’t get me wrong I don’t drive all the time within the laws but I think the press the Dragon gets for large numbers of drivers in violation will cause this area to be patrolled more and more as the years go by.
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Drill Apr 19th, 2008 Link
I think another issue is that the Ring, while a “public” road, isn’t driven as such, whereas people drive the Dragon just to get to/from work/home.
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Krut Apr 19th, 2008 Link
I’m sure all flames will be doused by the time we get there. It’s better it happened before rather than during our time there. I’m more concerned about the weather than the Dragon – there are a ton of beautiful driving roads in the area – I actually find Dragon a bit too intense at times.
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smokem Apr 20th, 2008 Link
From what I’ve been reading, they were probably looking for any excuse to shut that road down or clamp down on it. I think they have their excuse now. It was only a matter of time…
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