New C. Oregon public lands fire restrictions begin Friday

Given the continued trend of hot and dry conditions, and fire suppression resources already responding to numerous wildfires around Central Oregon, public lands managers are implementing campfire restrictions and further restricting industrial activity, effective later this week.

The restrictions will be for lands of the Prineville District Bureau of Land Management, the Deschutes National Forest and the Ochoco National Forest, including the Crooked River National Grassland, officials said Monday.

Effective 12:01 a.m. on Friday, campfires, warming fires and cooking fires, including charcoal fires, portable propane campfires, biomass or particle wood-burning stoves, and wood pellet grills or smokers, are prohibited on Forest Service and BLM lands, except in established fire rings at designated campgrounds.

Wilderness: These campfire restrictions apply to all wildernesses on Forest Service and BLM lands. Please note that biomass or particle wood-burning stoves are not allowed in wilderness this year due to the severity of fuel conditions.

At the following campgrounds, campfires are still permitted within established fire rings :

Crescent Ranger District: Contorta Flat, Contorta Point, Crescent Lake, Princess Creek, 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, Big River Group, Bull Bend, Wyeth, Cinder Hill, East Lake, Little Crater, Newberry, 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, Suttle Lake, Three Creeks Lake, Three Creeks Meadow, Three Creeks 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

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 still 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.

In addition to Public Use Restrictions, the Prineville BLM, Deschutes and Ochoco National Forests and Crooked River National Grassland will move to an Industrial Fire Precaution Level III (IFPL) as of 12:01 a.m. on Friday, July 10.

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 the Deschutes National Forest website here.

Public use restrictions are not put in place to ruin camping experiences. Officials carefully consider the current fire situation, fuel moisture and predicted weather before making the decision to implement fire restrictions.

Land managers will continue to monitor conditions and will rescind these restrictions as soon as it is safe to do so; however, restrictions may also increase if fire danger escalates.

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.