Rising wildfire danger has prompted the Oregon Department of Forestry’s (ODF) Northeast Oregon District to institute a Regulated-Use Closure effective Tuesday, July 31.
The Regulated Use Closure affects private, state, county, municipal, and tribal lands protected by the Oregon Department of Forestry in seven counties: Union, Baker, Wallowa, Umatilla, and small portions of Malheur, Morrow and Grant. The Regulated Use Closure is intended to protect natural resources and public health and safety.
“Recent warm temperatures and limited rainfall throughout the region have dried wildland fuels and increased the danger of wildland fires,” explains John Buckman, Northeast Oregon District Forester. “Implementing Regulated-Use Closure reduces the potential for human-caused fires to occur and allows firefighters to focus on fires ignited by lightning.”
Limiting human-caused fires within the Northeast Oregon District is the objective of the closure, which includes the following restrictions:
• Open fires are prohibited, including campfires, charcoal fires, cooking fires and warming fires, except at designated locations. Designated locations within the Regulated Use Closure area include these Oregon State Parks: Emigrant Springs, Ukiah Dale, Catherine Creek, Hilgard Junction, Red Bridge, Wallowa Lake, Minam, and Unity Lake. Portable cooking stoves using liquefied or bottled fuels are allowed.
• Smoking is prohibited while traveling, except in vehicles on improved roads, in boats on the water, or at a cleared area.
• Debris burning is prohibited, except in burn barrels for which a valid permit has been issued.
• Non-Industrial chain saw use is prohibited between the hours of 1:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. Chain saw use is permitted at all other hours, if the following firefighting equipment is present with each operating saw: one axe, one shovel, and one 8 ounce or larger fire extinguisher. In addition, a fire watch is required for at least one hour following the use of each saw.
• Possession of the following firefighting equipment is required while traveling, except on state highways, county roads and driveways: one shovel and one gallon of water or one 2½ pound or larger fire extinguisher.
• Cutting, grinding and welding of metal is prohibited, between the hours of 1:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. Cutting, grinding and welding of metal is permitted at all other hours, if conducted in a cleared area and if a water supply is present, unless specifically waived by the State Forester.
• Any electric fence controller in use shall be: 1) Listed by a nationally recognized testing laboratory or be certified by the Department of Consumer and Business Services; and 2 ) Operated in compliance with manufacturer’s instructions.
• Use of fireworks is prohibited.
• Mowing of dry and cured grass with power driven equipment is prohibited, between the hours of 1:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., except for the commercial culture and harvest of agricultural crops.
Visit our website at www.oregon.gov/ODF/FIELD/NEO/aboutneo.shtml or contact a local Oregon Department of Forestry office for more complete information on ODF Restrictions:
La Grande Unit (541) 963-3168
Baker City Sub-Unit (541) 523-5831
Wallowa Unit (541) 886-2881
Pendleton Unit (541) 276-3491
Please check with your local Forest Service office for fire regulations on National Forest land. Information on Public-Use Restrictions on the Oregon Department of Forestry, Umatilla National Forest and Wallowa Whitman National Forest can be found at http://bmidc.org/index.shtml under Current Information: Fire Restrictions.
Christie Shaw / ODF NE Oregon District