Southwest Utah, Northern Arizona Fire Managers Implement “Additional Fire Restrictions”
Due to extreme fire danger conditions and increased human caused wildfires in southwest Utah and the Arizona Strip, Color Country Interagency Fire Managers are implementing Advanced (Stage II) Fire Restrictions beginning Wednesday, June 30, at 12:01 a.m. The public and visitors to the area should be mindful that these new fire restrictions will limit certain activities. These restrictions will remain in effect until rescinded, which typically occurs after significant and
widespread moisture arrives and fire danger levels subside. The following describes the restrictions implemented by each fire management agency in the Color Country Fire
Management Area.
Firefighters are responding to increasing numbers of human caused wildfires across the region and weather forecasting models continue to predict drier conditions with increasing fire danger and above normal potential for large fires for the next few months, according to Bureau of Land
Management Color Country Fire Management Officer Josh Tibbetts.
“We are responding to more reports of abandoned campfires that coupled with extremely dry
conditions at all elevations could lead to large, challenging fires that threaten communities and public and firefighter safety,” said Tibbetts.
With increased public recreation occurring and potential for human caused fires, the following acts are prohibited on the lands described below until fire danger decreases and fire restrictions are rescinded.
Restricted Lands in Washington, Iron, Beaver, Kane, Garfield, Coconino, and Mojave
Counties:
• Unincorporated privately owned and all state administered lands (Utah Division of Forestry Fire and State Lands). Incorporated towns and cities are not included in
these restrictions. (Contact your local fire department for municipal restrictions).
• Bureau of Land Management administered public land (Utah and Arizona Strip).
• Dixie National Forest (Pine Valley, Cedar City, Powell and Escalante Ranger Districts).
• National Park Service (Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Cedar Breaks National Monument, Pipe Springs National Monument, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, and Rainbow Bridge National Monument).
• Bureau of Indian Affairs (Trust Lands of the Shivwits, Cedar, Indian Peaks, and Kaibab Band Reservations).
Restrictions:
The Following acts are prohibited until further notice:
1. Igniting, building, attending, using a fire, campfire, charcoal, coal, wood stove fire, including fires in developed campgrounds and improved sites. All debris burning is
strictly prohibited. No campfires are allowed in any location until restrictions are rescinded.
2. Discharging or using any kind of fireworks on unincorporated private land (always prohibited on state and federal lands).
3. Operating or using any internal or external combustion engine without a spark arresting device properly installed, maintained and in effective working order as determined by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) recommended practices J335 and J350.
4. Operating a chainsaw or other motorized equipment powered by an internal combustion engine, other than motorized vehicles between the hours of 1:00 PM and
10:00 PM. A one-hour fire watch is required after chainsaw or other motorized equipment has shutdown.
5. Detonating of explosives, incendiary or chemical devices, pyrotechnics, or exploding targets, or tracer ammunition (always prohibited on federal land).
6. Cutting, welding, or grinding of metal in areas of dry vegetation.
7. Smoking except in an enclosed vehicle or building, or a developed recreation site or areas of a minimum of three (3) feet in diameter cleared down to mineral soil.
Be aware that fire restrictions will be slightly different among agencies and these restrictions DO NOT apply to incorporated cities. Please contact the local city fire department for specific information for those towns and cities. Also please check the specific fire restrictions with the
respective land management agency before visiting.
Agency specific restrictions and reference maps are posted on Utahfireinfo.gov and www.wildlandfire.az.gov.
Please Note: Fire conditions are extreme this year.
For more information on preventing unwanted human caused wildfires, visit www.utahfireinfo.gov and www.wildlandfire.az.gov or on Twitter @UtahWildfire.
