NEWS RELEASE – Extreme Fire Danger

BAKER CITY, Ore. (July 8, 2021) – The Fire Danger Level is now “Extreme” across the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest. At midnight tonight, the Industrial Fire Precaution Level (IFPL) is moving to Level 4 as an additional fire-prevention measure. Public Use Restrictions (PURs) remain in Phase B this weekend on the Wallowa-Whitman. However, persistent wildfire risks may require a move to Phase C PURs in the near future.

IFPL 4 requires a general shutdown of chainsaws, power saws, and all heavy equipment operations. IFPLs also applies to fuelwood permit holders for both commercial and personal uses.

• Chainsaw and power saw use is not allowed.
• Tractor, skidder, feller-buncher, forwarder, or shovel logging operations are not allowed, nor are mechanized loading operations, hauling of any product or material, cable yarding, or blasting.
• Welding, metal cutting, or any other activities that can produce or emit a spark are not allowed.

Please be mindful of current Phase B Public Use Restrictions in addition to IFPL 4 restrictions.

• Campfires are not allowed outside of the fire pits provided at developed recreation sites, where all flammable material should be cleared 10 feet from the edge of the pit, and the pit should be free of overhanging material.
• Anyone with a campfire must have a tool that can serve as a shovel and at least one gallon of water. Campfires must be attended at all times and completely extinguished prior to leaving. Remember: “If it is too hot to touch, it is too hot to leave.”
• While campfires are still allowed in Wilderness Areas, year-around restrictions in the Eagle Cap Wilderness prohibit campfires within 100 feet of any lakes or posted wetlands. Campfires are also prohibited within ¼ mile (1320 feet) of the lakes listed on the back of Eagle Cap Wilderness permits.
• As a reminder, year-around campfire restrictions also apply to the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area within a ¼ mile of the Wild and Scenic portions of the Snake River, from Hells Canyon Dam downstream to the Oregon-Washington border.
• Public lands in Idaho follow separate Idaho Fire Restrictions.
• Generators are allowed only if fully contained in the bed of a pickup truck or in an area that has been cleared of all flammable material at least 10 feet away. Other internal combustion engines are prohibited, except for motor vehicles.
• Wood stoves and briquette fires are not permitted.
• Motor vehicle travel off developed forest roads and trails is not allowed due to the risk of a vehicle sparking a wildfire in the dry grass and roadside vegetation. Exception: Vehicles may be used to access campsites located within 300 feet of an open developed road. All motorized travel on roads closed by gates, barricades, berms, rocks, or logs is prohibited.
• Fireworks are always prohibited on public lands.
• Phase B PURs prohibit chainsaw use without a permit, and even with a permit, chainsaw use is not currently allowed under IFPL 4.

Remember, “Only you can prevent wildfires!” With tinder-dry forest fuels and high daytime temperatures, conditions are prime for human-caused wildfires. We ask everyone to be extremely careful with campfires. Please be vigilant with other ignition sources too: It just takes one spark from an unsecured chain while towing a trailer, or from a flat tire with an exposed wheel or hubcap.

Separate restrictions may be in effect on State and private lands protected by Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) in northeast Oregon. For more information, contact your local ODF office or visit the Blue Mountain Interagency Dispatch Center website (http://www.bmidc.org).

To learn more, contact your local Forest Service office or visit our website (www.fs.usda.gov/wallowa-whitman).

wildfire notice poster

The Wallowa-Whitman National Forest issued the following press release Friday. Please stay safe, comply with all restrictions and take every precaution to keep our forests green.

BAKER CITY, Ore. (September 11, 2020) — Due to continued hot temperatures, lack of moisture and extreme fire danger, National Forest officials have announced that effective 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, September 12, 2020, the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest moved to Phase C of public use restrictions (PURs). With concern for public safety and the increased potential for human caused wildfires, officials remind forest visitors to use extreme caution when visiting the forest; under current conditions, even a spark can rapidly become a large wildfire.
Phase C PURs is the third level of restrictions and includes:

• Campfires are prohibited on the Forest. Use liquid and bottle (propane) gas stoves only.
• No internal combustion engine operation (including chainsaws), except for motorized vehicles.
• Electrical generators operated under the following conditions are allowed: o in the center of an area at least 10 feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable material, or;
  • when fully contained within a pickup truck bed that is empty of all flammable material, or;
  • when factory installed in a recreational vehicle and the generator exhaust discharge is located in the center of an area at least 10 feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable material.

• No off-road/off-trail vehicle travel or travel on roads not cleared of standing grass or other flammable material. Vehicle travel is never permitted on currently closed forest service roads where access has been impeded or blocked by earthen berms, logs, boulders, barriers, barricades or gates, or as otherwise identified in a closure order.

• Smoking is allowed only in enclosed vehicles and buildings, developed recreation sites, or in cleared areas.

Please remember that it is your responsibility to know what restrictions are in place when visiting public lands.
To report a wildfire call 911, or contact:

• Blue Mountain Interagency Dispatch Center 541-963-7171
• John Day Interagency Dispatch Center 541-575-1321

Regulated closures are in effect on State and private lands protected by Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) in northeast and central Oregon. Please check with your local Oregon Department of Forestry office for public use restrictions on lands protected by ODF. For more complete information contact a local Oregon Department of Forestry office or visit one of the interagency dispatch center’s webpages:
Blue Mountain Interagency Dispatch webpage: www.bmidc.org
John Day Interagency Dispatch webpage: http://bicc-jdidc.org/index.shtml

Similar restrictions may be in effect on State and private lands protected by the Washington Department of Natural Resources (WA-DNR). More information can be found on the WA-DNR website at: http://www.dnr.wa.gov/.

For more information regarding Phase C Public Use Restrictions, please contact:
Wallowa-Whitman National Forest
Information Hotlines: Baker City (541) 523-6391; La Grande (541) 962-8679; Joseph (541) 426-5552
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