BLM campfire restrictions begin Saturday

Annual campfire restrictions will go into effect Saturday June 1 on portions of the Deschutes, John Day and Crooked rivers, as well as on BLM-administered lands along Lake Billy Chinook.

The No. 1 goal of the BLM is promoting safety, and the river canyons present a combination of limited access, grassy fuels that dry out quickly, and steep slopes that allow wildfires to spread rapidly, officials said Tuesday.

In addition, beginning June 1 and continuing through the 2013 fire season, exploding targets and fireworks are prohibited on BLM-administered lands.

The river fire closures prohibit building, igniting, maintaining, attending, using, tending, or being within 20 feet of a campfire, charcoal fire, or any other type of open flame.

This closure bans the use of portable propane campfires and wood pellet burning devices. The closure also restricts areas where visitors can smoke to non-public buildings, closed vehicles, in boats on the water or while standing in the water.

The specific campfire closure locations apply to BLM-administered lands in the following areas:

• Within mile of the Crooked River’s edge from the Highway 97 bridge to Lake Billy Chinook;

• Within mile of the Deschutes River’s edge from the Highway 20 bridge to Lake Billy Chinook;

• Within mile of Lake Simtustus (located between Round Butte Dam and Pelton Dam);

• Within the Lower Deschutes National Wild and Scenic River corridor, which extends from Pelton Dam to the Columbia River;

• Within mile of Lake Billy Chinook, including the BLM Beach dispersed recreation site located mile east of the Three Rivers Recreation Area on the south shore of the Metolius Arm of the lake;

• Within mile of the White River’s edge from its confluence with the Deschutes River upstream to the eastern boundary of the Mt. Hood National Forest.

• The Mainstem John Day River from Tumwater Falls (River Mile 10) upstream to Kimberly (RM 185);

• The North Fork John Day River, from the confluence with the mainstem at Kimberly (RM 0) upstream to the Umatilla National Forest boundary (RM 62); and,

• The South Fork John Day River from Smokey Creek (RM 6) upstream to the Malheur Forest (RM 47).

Except in emergency conditions or with permission by an agency authorized officer, there are no exceptions to this closure. A violation of this closure is punishable to by a fine of not more than $1,000 or imprisonment of not more than 12 months, or both.

For more information about these closures, or other fire restrictions on BLM-administered lands in Central Oregon, please call the Prineville BLM District Office at (541) 416-6700 . For current information on public use restrictions, fire closures or changes to the Industrial Fire Precaution Level on the Deschutes and Ochoco National Forests and the Prineville BLM, please call the information line at 1-800-523-4737.