Industrial Fire Precaution Level III
will also be implemented this week
CENTRAL
OREGON – With hot and dry conditions expected to continue, increasing
numbers of wildfires around the northwest, and fire suppression resources
already responding to a high number of human-caused wildfires around Central
Oregon, the Prineville District Bureau of Land Management, the Deschutes
National Forest and the Ochoco National Forest, including the Crooked River National
Grassland, are implementing campfire restrictions and Industrial Fire
Precaution Level III.
Effective 12:01 a.m. July 21, 2017 (Friday), open fires, including
charcoal briquette fires and portable campfires, will be prohibited, except in
the following designated campgrounds:
Crescent Ranger District: Contorta Flat, Contorta Point,
Crescent Lake, Simax Group, Spring, Sunset Cove, Trapper Creek, Whitefish Horse
Camp, Windy Group Site, Industrial Mushroom Camp (Little Odell Butte).
Bend-Ft. Rock Ranger District: Crane Prairie,
Cultus Lake, Elk Lake, Fall River, Fall River Guard Station, Gull Point, Lava
Lake, Little Cultus Lake, Little Fawn, Little Fawn Group, Little Lava Lake,
Mallard Marsh, North Twin, Point, Quinn Meadow Horse Camp, Quinn River, Rock
Creek, Sheep Bridge, South, South Twin, West South Twin, Big River Group, Bull
Bend, Wyeth, Cinder Hill, East Lake, Little Crater, Newberry Group, Ogden
Group, Paulina Lake, Prairie.
Sisters Ranger District: Allen Springs, Allingham, Blue Bay,
Camp Sherman, Candle Creek, Cold Spring, Driftwood, Gorge, Graham Corral,
Indian Ford, Jack Creek, Link Creek, Lower Bridge, Lower Canyon Creek, Perry
South, Pine Rest, Pioneer Ford, Riverside, Scout Lake, Sheep Spring, Smiling
River, South Shore, Three Creek Lake, Three Creek Meadow, Three Creek Horse
Camp, Whispering Pine.
Paulina Ranger District: Sugar Creek, Wolf Creek.
Lookout Mtn. Ranger District: Antelope Flat
Reservoir, Deep Creek, Ochoco Divide, Ochoco Forest, Walton Lake and Wildcat.
Crooked River National Grassland: Skull Hollow
and Haystack Reservoir.
Prineville BLM: Big Bend, Castle Rock, Still Water,
Lone Pine, Palisades, Chimney Rock, Cobble Rock, Post Pile, and Poison
Butte.
These restrictions do not apply to Wilderness areas on the Deschutes
and Ochoco National Forests and Prineville BLM.
In addition to campfire restrictions, smoking is restricted to an
enclosed vehicle or building, in a designated campground, in boats on lakes and
rivers, or while stopped in an area at least three feet in diameter that is
clear of all flammable material. Portable cooking stoves or lanterns using
liquefied or bottled fuel may be used in all areas.
Officials want to remind the public that using explosive target
material, such as Tannerite, explosives, and fireworks continue to be
prohibited on all federal lands.
Additionally, the Prineville BLM, Deschutes and Ochoco National
Forests and Crooked River National Grassland will move to an Industrial Fire
Precaution Level III (IFPL). The IFPL applies to permitted and industrial
operations, including woodcutting, on federal lands.
IFPL III is considered a “partial shutdown” and restricts the use of
chainsaws to loading sites on tractor/skidder operations to between the hours
of 8 p.m. to 1 p.m. Only cable yarding systems that use non-motorized systems
are allowed. Industrial welding and mechanized loading operations are also
restricted to the hours of 8 p.m. to 1 p.m. Industrial and permitted operations
may request a waiver from the Forest Service or BLM depending on land ownership
at the activity location. It is the responsibility of all operators to know and
follow the requirements of the current fire precaution level.
More information about both IFPL and Public Use Restrictions can be
found at http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/centraloregon/home/?cid=fsbdev3_035880
Public use restrictions help protect the land, resources, and
visitors. Officials carefully consider the current fire situation, fuel
moisture and predicted weather before making the decision to implement fire
restrictions. Every year lightning-caused fires place a heavy demand on our
firefighting resources, and put our wildlands, our firefighters, and our
communities at risk. Fires caused through carelessness or negligence only
increase the threat to life and livelihood, and place an even greater burden on
already busy firefighters. Every fire
that’s prevented protects our communities and helps our firefighters remain
available, rested, and safe.
For up-to-the-minute wildfire information, follow us on Twitter
@CentralORFire.
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The mission of the USDA Forest Service is to
sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and
grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. The Agency
manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to State and
private landowners, and maintains the largest forestry research organization in
the world.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land,
the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of
Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The
BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout
the nation. The BLM's mission is to manage and conserve the public lands for
the use and enjoyment of present and future generations under our mandate of
multiple-use and sustained yield. In Fiscal Year 2015, the BLM generated $4.1
billion in receipts from activities occurring on public lands.
