As fires rage, U.S. Forest Service closes California’s woods to public use for first time
In an unprecedented move, the U.S. Forest Service on Wednesday closed all national forests in California in a frantic attempt to prevent more wildfires from erupting.
“The number of large fires and extreme fire behavior we are seeing across the state is historic,” Regional Forester Randy Moore said in a written statement. “These temporary closures are necessary to protect the public and our firefighters, and we will keep them in place until conditions improve and we are confident that National Forest visitors can recreate safely.”
Last week, the Forest Service closed all forests in the southern half of the state and all day-use areas and developed campgrounds statewide. The Forest Service also banned camp fires, gas cooking stoves and barbecues statewide.
Wednesday’s announcement extended the full closure to the remaining 10 forests in the northern half of the state. Visitors face fines and possible prison time for violating the emergency order.
“I ask all Californians and visitors to take these closures and evacuations seriously for their own safety and to allow our firefighters to focus on the mission of safely suppressing these fires,” Moore said.
In previous years, the Forest Service has closed individual forests from time to time due to fire risks, but never statewide, said retired Trinity County Supervisor Roger Jaegel, a former U.S. Forest Service employee of more than 30 years.
“In this particular situation, I can understand,” Jaegel said. “Everybody is tapped out.”
On Tuesday, the federal Bureau of Land Management, which manages 15 million acres in California, announced it was prohibiting all campfires and other open sources of flame, including in campgrounds.
Last week, one of the state’s biggest private landowners, Sierra Pacific Industries, which allows public use of its forests, also announced it was closing its timberland.
After a dry winter and spring, more than 2.2 million acres have burned across the state so far in 2020, a modern record.
Extreme fire danger is going to persist until the rainy weather returns to the state this fall. Some of the state’s most destructive fires have happened in October and November, when the state is at its driest and windstorms tear through the foothills.
The national forests affected by the closure are:
- Angeles National Forest
- Eldorado National Forest
- Inyo National Forest
- Klamath National Forest
- Lassen National Forest
- Los Padres National Forest
- Mendocino National Forest
- Modoc National Forest
- Plumas National Forest
- San Bernardino National Forest
- Sierra National Forest
- Sequoia National Forest
- Tahoe National Forest
This story was originally published September 9, 2020 at 12:59 PM.