Regional Fire Restriction Orders On Forest Replaced By Local Ban

Campfire cooking

Sonora, CA – Stanislaus National Forest visitors still cannot build a campfire outside of designated areas even after switching from regional to local fire restrictions.

The regional fire ban orders were set to expire tonight. To extend the temporary restrictions due to the dry conditions, Forest Supervisor Jason Kuiken signed fire ban orders for moderate and high fire hazard zones. Both will be in effect from Nov. 7th through Dec. 31st.

Forest officials provide these restrictions under these orders:

• Visitors are not allowed to build, maintain, or use a campfire except in open developed recreation sites
• Smoking is not allowed, except within an enclosed vehicle or building, or within developed recreation sites
• No welding or acetylene or other torches with an open flame are allowed.
• Persons with a valid California campfire permit may use a portable stove or lantern using gas, jellied petroleum, or pressurized liquid fuel on National Forest System lands within the moderate and high hazard zones.
• Visitors to the low hazard zones are allowed to have campfires and use propane or gel-fuel stoves, as long as they have a valid California campfire permit. Campfire permits may be requested at www.preventwildfiresca.org.

Even with the anticipated weekend winter weather, Kuiken explains, “This weekend’s winter storm will help reduce the extreme fire risk we’ve seen in the forest this summer. We still urge visitors to follow all safety procedures when using cookstoves or, in low hazard zones, if you build a campfire. It will still be a dry landscape even after this first precipitation, so please help us keep the forest free of wildfires.”

For additional information about fire restrictions and recreation activities that are allowed under these forest orders, click here.