Fire managers implementing restrictions on campfires, welding in forest and unincorporated lands

Stock image for the purpose of illustration, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — Due to extreme fire danger conditions and increased human-caused wildfires in Southwest Utah and the Arizona Strip, Color Country Interagency Fire Managers are implementing Advanced (Stage II) Fire Restrictions beginning Wednesday at 12:01 a.m., in local forest and unincorporated areas.

A file photo of a campfire in the Basin Campground at Kodachrome Basin State Park, Utah, Sept. 17, 2016 | Photo by Hollie Reina, St. George News

The restrictions include temporary bans on campfires and using chainsaws and/or motorized equipment during certain hours.

The public and visitors to the area should be mindful that these new fire restrictions will limit certain activities.  These restrictions will remain in effect until rescinded, which typically occurs after significant and widespread moisture arrives and fire danger levels subside.

Firefighters are responding to increasing numbers of human-caused wildfires across the region and weather forecasting models continue to predict drier conditions with increasing fire danger and above normal potential for large fires for the next few months, according to Bureau of Land Management Color Country Fire Management Officer Josh Tibbetts.

“We are responding to more reports of abandoned campfires that coupled with extremely dry conditions at all elevations could lead to large, challenging fires that threaten communities and public and firefighter safety,” Tibbetts said.

With increased public recreation occurring and the potential for human-caused fires, the following acts are prohibited on the lands described below until fire danger decreases and fire restrictions are rescinded.

Scene of a wildfire burning near the town of Enterprise, Utah, June 18, 2021 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Restricted Lands in Washington, Iron, Beaver, Kane, Garfield, Coconino and Mojave Counties:

  • Unincorporated privately owned and all state-administered lands (Utah Division of Forestry Fire and State Lands). Incorporated towns and cities are not included in these restrictions. (Contact your local fire department for municipal restrictions).
  • Bureau of Land Management administered public land (Utah and Arizona Strip).
  • Dixie National Forest (Pine Valley, Cedar City, Powell and Escalante Ranger Districts).
  • National Park Service (Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Cedar Breaks National Monument, Pipe Springs National Monument, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Rainbow Bridge National Monument).
  • Bureau of Indian Affairs (Trust Lands of the Shivwits, Cedar, Indian Peaks and Kaibab Band Reservations).

Restrictions

Stock image, St. George News

The following acts are prohibited until further notice:

  1. Igniting, building, attending, using a fire, campfire, charcoal, coal, wood stove fire, including fires in developed campgrounds and improved sites.  All debris burning is strictly prohibited. No campfires are allowed in any location until restrictions are rescinded (exception in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, where campfires are permitted below the high-water mark of the lake in areas devoid of vegetation).
  2. Discharging or using any kind of fireworks on unincorporated private land (always prohibited on state and federal lands).
  3. Operating or using any internal or external combustion engine without a spark arresting device properly installed, maintained and in effective working order as determined by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) recommended practices J335 and J350.
  4. Operating a chainsaw or other motorized equipment powered by an internal combustion engine, other than motorized vehicles between the hours of 1:00 PM and 10:00 PM. A one-hour fire watch is required after chainsaw or other motorized equipment has shutdown.
  5. Detonating of explosives, incendiary or chemical devices, pyrotechnics, or exploding targets, or tracer ammunition (always prohibited on federal land).
  6. Cutting, welding, or grinding of metal in areas of dry vegetation.
  7. Smoking except in an enclosed vehicle or building, or a developed recreation site or areas of a minimum of three feet in diameter cleared down to mineral soil.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

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