Today, the Fire Danger Level was raised to “High” for all federal, state, county, and private lands in Klamath and Lake counties protected by the agencies of the South Central Oregon Fire Management Partnership. It also applies to the Fremont-Winema National Forest, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Lakeview District, the Sheldon-Hart Mountain and Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge Complexes, and Crater Lake National Park.

The following information was released by the South Central Oregon Fire Management Partnership:

Early season summer-like hot, dry weather, depleted snowpack and rapid drying of forest fuels have resulted in fire danger levels reaching “High.” Fires starting in these conditions have the potential for rapid fire spread and significant damage.

The Industrial Fire Precaution Level (IFPL) is being raised to Level II on federal lands. Under IFPL II, the following may operate only between the hours of 8 p.m. and 1 p.m.:

Personal and commercial woodcutters are reminded of their responsibility to stay informed of current IFPLs and all restrictions that apply to activities conducted on federal lands. Failure to comply with precautionary fire requirements may result in the issuance of a Violation Notice.

For more information on IFPL restrictions, please visit www.scofmp.org.

Additionally, the ODF Klamath-Lake District will begin Public Regulated Use Closure starting Friday, July 8, 2022, at 12:01 a.m. Fire officials are implementing these restrictions to dramatically reduce the chance of an accidental fire.

Under the Public Regulated Use Closure, the following activities are prohibited on all private, county, and state wildlands:

For more information on restrictions, please visit: https://www.oregon.gov/odf/fire/pages/restrictions.aspx.

Forest operations that require a permit to operate power-driven machinery must have fire tools, on-site water supply and watchman service on privately owned forest land.

The release of sky lanterns is prohibited at any time of the year. In addition, the discharge of exploding targets and tracer ammunition is not permitted during fire season.

On the BLM Lakeview District, Public Use Restrictions in the Klamath River Canyon remain in place. They went into effect May 15 for BLM-managed lands within a half-mile of the Klamath River from the Keno Dam downstream to the Oregon/California border. The full order can be found at www.blm.gov/orwafire.

This year has seen an early start to wildfire season in South Central Oregon, and conditions continue to dry out as summer approaches. The public is asked to use extreme caution with anything that can potentially spark a wildfire. Equipment should be checked to ensure spark arresters are in working order.

Anyone going out into the wildlands should be prepared with water, a shovel, a fire extinguisher, and an ax. Campfires should never be left unattended, dead out, and cold to the touch before leaving. If you suspect a wildfire, please report it to 911.

For more information and current updates, check online at Facebook at facebook.com/SCOFMPFireInfo.

A native of San Diego, Mike has been a member of the NewsWatch 12 staff since January 2018. A former member of photo staffs at The Oregonian, Los Angeles Times, and San Diego Union-Tribune, Mike has never worked beyond the left coast.

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