Forest Service Closes All National Forest In The State Temporarily

Sonora, CA – The USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region has announced the temporary closure of all national forests in California due to unprecedented and historic fire conditions throughout the state.

“The number of large fires and extreme fire behavior we are seeing across the State is historic,” said Regional Forester Randy Moore. “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. 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.”

As reported here Monday, the forest service shutdown Pinecrest Lake and the Stanislaus National Forest along with six other national forests citing “explosive growth of fires throughout California during that day and late evening.” Today, ten new forests have been added to the closure list, marking the shutdown of all eighteen national forests in California. The closure begins at 5 p.m. today and includes:

• Eldorado National Forest
• Klamath National Forest
• Lassen National Forest
• Mendocino National Forest
• Modoc National Forest
• Six Rivers National Forest
• Plumas National Forest
• Shasta-Trinity National Forest
• Tahoe National Forest
• Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit.

Forest officials relay that this decision will be re-evaluated daily as conditions change.