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PUBLIC USE RESTRICTIONS INCREASE
Chainsaw use prohibited and campfires allowed only in designated recreation sites.
Pendleton and Baker City, Oregon - Forest officials will implement Phase B public use restrictions at
12:01 AM on Friday, August 19, 2016
on the Umatilla and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests due to high fire
danger, the potential for human caused fires, and concern for public
safety. The increased restrictions pertain to the use of campfires,
smoking,
chainsaws, internal combustion engines, and generators.
“We all enjoy and appreciate our forests and we
need to minimize the chance of an accidental human-caused fire, said
Brian Goff, Fire Staff Officer on the Umatilla National Forest. “It’s
mid-August and there’s still several weeks of fire
season ahead of us. We all need to be aware of these conditions, be
cautious when recreating in the forest, and think about fire
prevention,” said Goff.
Beginning Friday, campfires will ONLY
be allowed in designated campgrounds and recreation sites. Liquefied or
bottled gas stoves and heaters are allowed for cooking and heating. A
list of designated recreation sites is available
on the forest’s websites.
Operating an internal combustion engine, such as a
chainsaw, is prohibited. The public is reminded that personal-use
firewood cutting is governed under current Industrial Fire Precaution
Level (IFPL) restrictions. Current IFPL Levels
are posted on the Blue Mountain Interagency website at
http://bmidc.org/ifpls.shtml.
Generators will only be allowed in
the center of an area at least 10 feet in
diameter that is cleared of all flammable material, or; when fully
contained within a pickup truck bed that is devoid of all flammable
material, or; when factory installed in a recreational
vehicle and the generator exhaust discharge is located in the center of
an area at least 10 feet in diameter that is cleared of all flammable
material.
Smoking is only allowed
within enclosed vehicles, buildings, and developed recreation sites or
when stopped in an area cleared of all flammable material.
As a reminder, travel restrictions prohibit motor
vehicles traveling off of designated Forest roads and trails, except for
the purposes of going to or from campsites located within 300 feet of
an open road. Motorized travel on segments
of road where access is blocked by gate, barricade, log, boulder or
earthen berm is also prohibited. Vehicles must still abide by all laws
and regulations pertaining to the area of travel.
Regulated closures are
in effect on State and private lands protected by Oregon Department of
Forestry (ODF) in northeast and central Oregon. Please check with your
local Oregon Department of Forestry office
for public use restrictions on lands protected by ODF. Visit the Blue
Mountain Interagency Dispatch webpage at:
www.bmidc.org
or contact a local Oregon Department of Forestry office for more
complete information. Similar restrictions may be in effect on State
and private lands protected by the Washington Department of Natural
Resources (WA-DNR). More information can be found
on the WA-DNR website at: http://www.dnr.wa.gov/
For more information and a list of designated
recreation areas and campsites where campfires are permitted during
Phase B Public Use Restrictions, please contact:
Wallowa-Whitman NF: 541-523-6391 or Forest Information Hotlines
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