New Fire Restrictions

From Wildfire Specialist Doug Burns, Washington County Emergency Services

No campfires are allowed

Southwest Utah, Northern Arizona Fire Managers Implement “Additional Fire Restrictions” 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 Tuesday, July 3 at 00:01 a.m. Visitors should be mindful that these new fire restrictions will limit certain activities and will remain in effect until rescinded, which typically occurs after significant and widespread moisture arrives and fire danger levels subside. The following describes the restrictions implemented by each fire management agency in the Color Country Fire Management Area.

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:

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 No campfires are allowed in any location until restrictions are rescinded. Exceptions: In Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, 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 (3) feet in diameter cleared down to mineral soil.

For specific information regarding fire restrictions by juristiction, visit www.utahfireinfo.gov or the Color Country Interagency Fire Center at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov