NEWS RELEASE
Los Padres National Forest
For Immediate Release
Contact: Andrew Madsen (805) 961-5759
Twitter: @LosPadresNF
Website: http://www.fs.usda.gov/lpnf
Los Padres National Forest Elevates Fire Restrictions
GOLETA, CA, August 23, 2016…Due to ongoing wildfires, extremely dry vegetation and very high fire danger, the Los Padres National Forest officials today announced Level IV fire restrictions will go into effect beginning today, August 23, 2016. The following restrictions will be rigorously enforced until the end of the declared fire season:
· Wood and charcoal fires are prohibited in all areas of Los Padres National Forest including designated Campfire Use sites; however persons with a valid California Campfire Permit are allowed to use portable stoves and lanterns using gas, jellied petroleum or pressurized liquid fuel within the designated Campfire Use Sites only. California Campfire Permits are available for free download from the Los Padres National Forest website (http://www.fs.usda.gov/lpnf ). You must clear all flammable material for a distance of five feet in all directions from your camp stove, have a shovel available, and ensure that a responsible person attends the stove at all times when it is in use.
· Recreational target shooting is prohibited in all areas of the National Forest unless specifically authorized by a special use permit with the Forest; however, hunting with a valid State of California hunting license during open hunting season is exempt from this restriction.
· Smoking is prohibited in all areas of the national forest except within an enclosed vehicle, building, or designated Campfire Use Site.
· Fireworks are prohibited at all times and in all locations within Los Padres National Forest.
· Operating or using any internal or external combustion engine without a spark arresting device properly installed, maintained and in effective working order on roads and trails specifically designated for such use. (This restriction is in effect year-round.)
Violators are subject to a $5,000 fine and/or six months in jail, and could be liable for the full cost of any fire suppression activities that result from their actions. For further information regarding current conditions as well as safety tips, contact your nearest Forest Service office or visit the Los Padres National Forest website at http://www.fs.usda.gov/lpnf.
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Designated Campfire Use sites are ONLY at Kirk Creek Campground, Plaskett Creek Campground, and Nacimiento and Ponderosa Campgrounds within the LPNF.
Thank you ! Speaking of the Las Padres National Forest, I’d like to get the word out that the Chews Ridge/secco div. and all of us in the path of the fire, are having a “Community Fire Meeting – Wednesday, August 24th 4:00 at the Jamesburg School. And, please know how much I/we appreciate your blog !
right on!!
How many years of drought, millions of dead trees, low reservoir water levels, & lifeless vegetation does it take for this notice to go viral on all local, state, & Fed levels? Who makes this determination/declaration in the first place?
Andrew, the LPNF declaration is made by Bob Baird, Forest Supervisor, in GOLETA. It is a forest-wide declaration based on certain criteria.
bigsurkate
With the forest raging… fire everywhere… they are allowing guns…shooting…hunting… seems crazy to me!
All I am seeing in t he general media is that the drought conditions and the climate is causing these fires. Still more reason for an educational campaign and a good PR campaign to PREVENT as much as we can since we are working with a compromised set of circumstances. This should never happen again! Ok, I’ve had my say.
Leave the restrictions in place forever!!
right on Tommy!
Are you suggesting that stoves should never be allowed in the Los Padres again? Even in the winter?
Personally, I do not think stoves are an issue any time other than extreme conditions, like now. But for campfires and charcoal bbqs, I wouldn’t mind seeing those banned EXCEPT for the 3 months of winter.
Makes sense, fire restrictions must be tailored to address the ecosystem. For example, in the north woods of Minnesota, wood fires are a huge part of the culture but it makes sense since it rains year round and there’s an insane amount of wood. Big Sur’s ecosystem is different than there. Stoves are much lower risk than wood fires but I understand in current conditions, the forest service is stretched too thin to have to deal with another fire so eliminating any sources of flame is very reasonable.
When I read something like “keep the restrictions in place forever”, I see things going to an extreme. I get the sentiment from some people that they’d love to see nobody in Big Sur at all and have it as an elite club for landowners on the Big Sur coast. It is a NATIONAL forest and a STATE highway, paid for by taxpayers. We must find responsible ways to protect the Big Sur ecosystem while preserving access for those who own most of the land, the taxpayers.