Holiday crackdown on Russian River partying

<p>Sonoma County law enforcement officials are promising to crack down this weekend on river spots east of Healdsburg that they say have become party magnets for young people from across the county.</p><p>Officials with the California Highway Patrol and the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office will be out in force near the Russian River off of South Fitch Mountain Road.</p><p>The area has been drawing holiday crowds for generations, but some nearby residents say the advent of social media like Facebook and Twitter has made it increasingly common for revelers to organize large parties online.</p><p>The result, they say, has often been scores of teenagers and young adults who park illegally on narrow country roads, spend all day drinking on the banks of the river and leave behind vast amounts of garbage.</p><p>“It's like having 300 people in your front yard, drunk, swearing and peeing in your bushes,” said John Funkhouser, whose house on Rio Lindo Avenue looks down on a favorite gathering point. “They're mostly good kids, but after an afternoon of drinking, good kids are not that good anymore.”</p><p>Last Fourth of July, hundreds of young partiers convened on an island a quarter-mile downstream from Del Rio Woods, taking law enforcement officials aback with their numbers.</p><p>“There was just a huge presence of young people,” said Sgt. Ed Hoener with Sheriff's Office. “It kind of surprised everybody. We are not going to be surprised this year.”</p><p>On Memorial Day weekend, a similar collaboration in the area between the Sheriff's Office and the Highway Patrol resulted in more than 20 arrests and citations for alcohol violations as well as a number of towed vehicles.</p><p>Jon Sloat, spokesman with the Highway Patrol, said in years past, officers often went down to beaches to warn illegal parkers they were in danger of being cited or towed.</p><p>“This year we are not going to do that,” he said. “We are just going to take care of it.”</p><p>Fitch Mountain roads are extremely narrow even without illegally parked cars, potentially making them impassable to residents and emergency vehicles, Sloat said.</p><p>Hoener said other party spots along the river near Guerneville and Forestville will also draw scrutiny, but the Fitch Mountain area is getting special focus because it seems to have become increasingly popular.</p><p>“The partying has really grown out of control,” said Supervisor Mike McGuire, who represents the area on the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors. “It has created an unsafe situation for all involved.”</p><p>Others said the seasonal fun is no different than it's always been. </p><p>Craig Chandler, 47, who was born and raised in Healdsburg and still lives there, said the river has always been a place to party on holidays. Complaints about it are silly and overblown, he said.</p><p>“It's like building your house near an airport,” he said as he waded into the river on a blazing Friday afternoon. “You know there's an airport there.”</p><p>James Brooks, a first-grade teacher who has worked as a lifeguard on the river for more than 20 years, said he actually has seen positive signs in river behavior.</p><p>“I see people generally evolving and getting more respectful,” he said.</p>