NO CAMPFIRES OR OPEN FLAMES ANYWHERE – INCLUDING CAMPGROUNDS UNTIL THE END OF FIRE SEASON!
GOLETA, Calif. – Due to extremely dry vegetation and an increasing fire danger, Los Padres National Forest officials today announced that additional fire restrictions will go into effect beginning tomorrow, August 9, 2018. 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. 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. California Campfire Permits are available for free download from the Los Padres National Forest website (http://www.fs.usda.gov/lpnf) as well as at all Forest Service offices.
- 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 athttp://www.fs.usda.gov/lpnf.
This restriction will remain in effect until the end of fire season.
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Without policing and without massive promotion of this message, sadly nothing will change.
There is no enforcement. They put up a sign...so what?
Note that these restrictions also include a ban on camp stoves in the backcountry. While this provision is particularly difficult to enforce, VWA Volunteer Wilderness Rangers will do all they can to educate visitors & report violations. VWA staff will post & share this notice far & wide, & inform would-be Wilderness hikers that it's "cold-camping only" until fire season ends. Unless & until the US Congress awakens from its tax-cut fever dream & properly funds the USFS, it's up to all of us to care for our public lands.
Amen, Mike. Can I post this to FB?
https://bigsurkate.blog
yes, please.