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Know Before You Go
Welcome, you are
here to explore, enjoy, and make positive memories from your outdoor
experiences on America’s public lands and waters. Please remember these
are wide-open spaces and wildlands. Plan ahead and be aware of potential
hazards. It is everyone’s responsibility to take steps necessary to
minimize the chances of becoming lost or injured on public lands.
Check with your
local public land agency for more information about local conditions,
regulations, and recreation resources.
Stage 1 and 2 Fire Restrictions
Fire Restrictions come in different stages and become more prohibitive with each stage. Most forests begin by implementing a Stage I Restriction and if conditions worsen, Stage II is implemented. Stage III is when conditions worsen further and a forest closure is implemented, which means the public is not allowed to enter the boundaries of the national forest due to the danger.
Some important points as to why there are fire restrictions:
The number one reason is to protect human life, property and our natural resources. The smallest spark can turn our dry forest into a dangerous wildfire that can threaten lives and property.
We use certain criteria to determine what stage of fire restrictions to implement, which includes current and predicted weather, how many resources we have available to fight fires, fuel moisture in the forest, fire behavior and containment challenges, as well as several others. Additional details, protocols and processes are available.
Regardless of what level of fire restrictions we implement, not all fires can be prevented. Fires start from careless forest users, lightning, and inadvertent human-causes. We live in a fire-adapted ecosystem which depends on fire for its health, so it's never a question of if a wildfire will start, but when and how we will be able to respond to it.
Stage I Restrictions
What is Prohibited:
- Igniting, building, maintaining, or using a fire, including charcoal and briquettes outside a fire structure that is provided by the Forest Service within a developed campground that is open.
- Smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle or building, a developed recreation site, or while stopped in an area at least three (3) feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of any flammable material.
What is Allowed:
- Using a stove or grill that is solely fueled by pressurized liquid petroleum or pressurized petroleum gas (LPG) fuels (that can be turned off immediately).
- Shooting firearms IS allowed. Just make sure to follow normal federal rules: No shooting within a 150 yards of a campsite, developed recreation site or occupied area, residence or building. No shooting across a road, trail or body of water, or in any manner or place whereby any person property is exposed to injury or damage as a result of such discharge. No shooting in a cave.
- Chainsaw use IS allowed. However, please use caution and keep from creating sparks by not cutting directly on the ground where the chain can contact rocks while rotating.
Stage 2 Restrictions
What is Prohibited:
- Building, maintaining, attending, or using a fire, campfire, or stove fire.
- Smoking, except in an enclosed vehicle or building, or in developed recreation sites, or while stopped in an area at least 3 feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of any flammable material.
- Welding or operating an acetylene or other torch with open flame.
- Operating a chainsaw or any other equipment powered by an internal combustion engine between the hours of 9 a.m to 8 p.m.
Exemptions:
- Using a stove or grill that is solely fueled by liquid petroleum or liquid petroleum gas (LPG) fuels.
- Persons with a Forest Service permit specifically exempting them from the prohibitions.
- Any Federal, State, or local officer, or member of an organized rescue or firefighting force in the performance of official duty.
- Persons operating generators with an approved spark arresting device in an area that is barren or cleared of all overhead and surrounding flammable materials within 3 feet of the generator.
What is allowed:- Shooting firearms IS allowed. Just make sure to follow normal federal rules:
- No shooting within a 150 yards of a campsite, developed recreation site or occupied area, residence or building.
- No shooting across a road, trail or body of water, or in any manner or place whereby any person property is exposed to injury or damage as a result of such discharge.
- No shooting in a cave.
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Federal Land Fire Restrictions
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Colorado
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Forest Service
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Bureau of Land Management
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National Park Service
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Arapaho
& Roosevelt National Forests, Pawnee National Grassland
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BLM
Colorado Offices
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Colorado National Parks and
Monuments
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Grand
Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forests
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Rocky
Mountain National Park
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Pike-San
Isabel National Forests and Cimarron-Comanche National Grasslands
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Rio
Grande National Forest
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San Juan
National Forest
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White
River National Forest
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Kansas
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See Pike-San Isabel National Forests and Cimarron-Comanche National Grasslands
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BLM
Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas Lands
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Kansas National Parks and
Monuments
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Nebraska
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Nebraska-Samuel
R. McKelvie National Forests and Buffalo Gap, Fort Pierre, and Oglala
National Grasslands
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Newcastle Filed
Office
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Nebraska National Parks and
Monuments
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South Dakota
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Black
Hills National Forest
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South Dakota
Field Office
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South Dakota National Parks and
Monuments
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Wyoming
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Bighorn National
Forest
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High
Desert, High Plains, and Wind River Bighorn Basin Districts
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Wyoming National
Parks and Monuments
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Medicine
Bow-Routt National Forests and Thunder Basin National Grassland
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Shoshone
National Forest
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Current State/ County Fire Restrictions Not all are listed. You may need to go to your state and county to find the restrictions for your area). |
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