HAMMERS: Off-road event a go despite pandemic,
One of nation’s largest off-road racing events crawls on, despite COVID-19 pandemic The coronavirus pandemic will not thwart the annual running of the King of the Hammers, one of the largest off-road racing events in the country.
The King of the Hammers 2021 — a weeklong frenzy of desert racing and rock crawling in Johnson Valley — begins Jan. 28 and continues through Feb. 6.
Despite a total of 251,213 total COVID-19 cases in San Bernardino County as of Sunday, racers and fans are scheduled to converge at Means Dry Lake to enter “Hammertown” — a pop-up “city” erected as part of the event.
Still, the event won't be without changes meant to address health an safety amid the pandemic. On Jan. 14, the Bureau of Land Management's Barstow office announced a temporary closure of public lands used for the event.
In short, only registered race spectators, participants and race officials are exempt from the closure.
“The temporary closure is necessary to protect participant and spectator safety,” the agency said in a statement.
The agency added that the San Bernardino County Public Health Department determined the event's COVID-19 safety measures comply with the state's public health guidance.
“The BLM encourages the public to recreate responsibly on public lands and to take precautions to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19,” the agency said. “Stay local, plan ahead, practice safe social distancing and wear a mask when social distancing is not possible.”
According to the event's website, “access to the 2021 King of the Hammers event will not require COVID-19 testing.”
The website clarifies, however, that temperature checks will be required at the event's main gate. Protocols will be a bit stricter for participants, with testing required for drivers, staff, vendors and media within seven days before arrival.
Those who meet the requirements will receive a “special” wristband showing they tested negative for the virus.
While the website states that entry into King of the Hammers will not require
testing, it notes that anyone who tests positive for the coronavirus will not be permitted into Hammertown. Those individuals, however, “are free to do whatever you want to do outside.”
“Your choice, there will be Jumbotrons for viewing in outlying areas, plenty of things to do,” the website states.
Ultra4 Racing officials, the sanctioning body behind the event, did not respond to an emailed request for additional information for this story.
Health screenings, which include the temperature checks and attendees acknowledging that they are symptomfree, will take place at the event's welcome gate.
Rapid COVID-19 tests will also be available onsite for $30. General admission tickets for King of the Hammers cost $30.
As of Thursday, the same day the BLM approved an operational plan for the event, just under 1,500 spectator tickets had been pre-sold, and 482 drivers
had registered to compete, according to the Los Angeles Times. Those numbers did not include vendors, staff members, sponsors, volunteers or pit crew members who help put on King of the Hammers.
Alan Johnson, the vice president of marketing and communications for Ultra4 Racing, told the Times he was anticipating “considerably fewer people than in past years,” when around 50,000 spectators attended.
Meanwhile, residents and business owners in the High Desert community of Lucerne Valley, which is situated about 28 miles west of Means Dry Lake, are likely eagerly anticipating the event's arrival.
Chuck Bell, president of the Lucerne Valley Economic Development Association, called King of the Hammers a “major” financial boon to “gas stations, the (Lucerne Valley) Market and auto parts store,” as well as other businesses in the town of about 7,000 people.
Although Lucerne Valley is decidedly
more rural than nearby Apple Valley and other High Desert locales, the unincorporated community has not been spared from the pandemic.
San Bernardino County reported the first cases of the coronavirus in Lucerne Valley on July 14 — several months after the start of the pandemic — and the town did not reach 100 cases until early December. Since then, though, cases have risen more quickly.
As of Sunday, the county reported 303 cases in Lucerne Valley, an addition of around 200 cases in a little more than a month. Virus-related deaths in the community remain low at four total.
And while King of the Hammers is good for business, Bell admitted that not everyone is a fan of the event. He said heavy traffic makes Lucerne Valley's only four-way intersection — State Route 247 and Highway 18 — “basically a linear parking lot.”
“We advise residents to avoid (the intersection) during those times,” Bell said.