Triple Digit Temps Force Increased Fire Restrictions On Public Lands

Sonora, CA – The triple digit heat wave hitting the region has the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Mother Lode Field Office switching to Stage 2 fire restrictions for public lands on a temporary basis.

“In partnership with our fellow California federal, state, and local wildland fire prevention agencies, we are taking this extra precaution to help protect America’s public lands during this period of extreme fire danger,” says Acting Field Manager James Eicher, at BLM Mother Lode Field Office. “The BLM is committed to keeping public landscapes healthy and productive, so we all have to do our part to prevent wildland fires.”

The only exception is the use of portable stove with a California campfire permit. The fire restrictions will be in place until further notice within the Mother Lode Field Office boundaries that include all or portions of Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Colusa, El Dorado, Mariposa, Merced, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tuolumne, and Yuba counties.

The BLM is urging caution by all Californians and those visiting the Golden State, citing that one less spark means one less wildfire.

The BLM provided these Stage 2 fire restrictions:

• No campfires, barbecue grills, or open fires. Only portable stoves with gas, jellied petroleum or pressured liquid fuel, are allowed with a valid California campfire permit. Visitors should, however, be extremely careful with their use and should carry shovels and water to help put out fire.
• No welding or operating acetylene or other torch with an open flame.
•  No operating tools powered by internal combustion engines off established roads or trails, i.e.,chainsaws or lawn mowers.
• No motorized vehicles off established roads or trails.
• No shooting, use of firearms for hunting is still allowed.
•     No smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle or building, or at a designated developed recreation site, or other designated areas.
• No fireworks of any kind.
•   No explosives may be used or cause to be used, except by special permit.