Week in Review : PARKS : Sighting of Cougar Closes O’Neill Park

Following the second sighting of a mountain lion in less than a week, O’Neill Regional Park in Trabuco Canyon was closed indefinitely.

“We have not formulated any plans as yet, so we can’t say when the park might be reopened,” said Harold J. Krizan, county director of parks and recreation. “We certainly hope it will be soon, although fresh tracks were found there again this morning,” he said Wednesday.

The park was first shut down Dec. 26, after the first lion tracks were spotted.

But while O’Neill Park was being closed, Ronald W. Caspers Wilderness Park near San Juan Capistrano was being reopened. Caspers Park had been closed since October, when a mountain lion mauled a 6-year-old boy.

Caspers Park now has rules restricting children to picnic areas and to the reception and interpretive center. Adults are allowed on the park trails only in groups of at least two, and they must sign papers indicating they are aware of possible dangers.