Housing and Development Newsletter
Ruiz’s death was the first fatality at the Oceano Dunes since the popular off-roading park near Pismo Beach reopened following a lengthy coronavirus-related closure.
The Oceano Dunes had been closed to vehicle use from March 2020 to October, when the park opened to 1,000 street-legal cars on the beach per day.
Then, in February, the park further reopened to allow 1,000 off-highway vehicles (OHVs) and 1,000 street-legal cars on the dunes per day. The park also opened 100 overnight camping spots.
The Oceano Dunes entered its final reopening phase on June 15.
Before Ruiz’s death, the most recent death at the dunes occured on July 13, 2019, when 18-year-old Sacramento teen Alan Chernitskiy went off a 30-foot dune and fell off the bike he was riding.