VALE, Oregon — If you are heading to eastern Oregon during the holiday weekend be aware that the Bureau of Land Management is expanding fire restrictions in the region starting on Thursday, July 1.
"It is uncommonly drier than normal in eastern Oregon, which is why we are entering into fire restrictions earlier than we have the last few years," Vale District Fire Management Officer Tracy Skerjanec said. "Rising temperatures combined with minimal precipitation throughout June have now cured the annual grasses and other fine fuels that carry fire quickly."
Large wildfires are already starting in the Pacific Northwest, where wildfire season normally occurs in late summer. Vale joins the Oregon Department of Forestry and the U.S. Forest Service in issuing restrictions intended to protect public and private lands and communities in eastern Oregon.
"We need the public's help in preventing the next human-caused fire," Fire Mitigation and Education Specialist Al Crouch said. "We urge everyone to implement fire safe practices immediately, especially during the current heat wave."
The fire restrictions are available at Vale District offices and posted at campgrounds, developed recreation sites and kiosks throughout the district. The restrictions will apply to all public lands, campgrounds and recreation sites administered by the Vale District BLM, including the Malheur Resource Area, Baker City Resource Area, the 500-acre National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center site, and Bureau of Reclamation lands within Vale District boundaries, which includes the Owyhee Dam area.
Cross-country travel is prohibited until the order is lifted. Operating or parking motor vehicles or combustion engines is restricted to areas clear of all vegetation.
"We still want people to enjoy their public lands, but we have to balance that with reasonable restrictions to prevent wildfires," Crouch said. "The largest culprit for human-caused fires on lands managed by Vale BLM is equipment. Statistically, fires caused by motorized vehicles and trailers are second only to lightning starts."
Equipment refers to many things besides cars and trucks, including, ATVs and side-by-sides, industrial and commercial vehicles and equipment, recreational vehicles, power lines and other electrical mechanisms, chainsaws and mowers, generators, welders, and more.
The use of wood fueled campfires, smokers, woodstoves, portable braziers and charcoal briquettes are prohibited, however, campers and other visitors can use liquefied and bottle-gas stoves and heaters, provided they are used within an area at least 10 feet in diameter that is clear of all flammable materials.
Smoking is only permitted within certain areas that are barren of all flammable materials for at least a 6-foot diameter, aboard boats on rivers and lakes, or inside a motor vehicle.
The use of fireworks, tracer and incendiary ammunition, and exploding or metal targets on public lands is prohibited across the Oregon/Washington BLM region.
Any and all wildfire starts should be reported by calling 911.
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