Fire Restrictions Lifted on Public Land; Need for Fire Safe Awareness Continues

ELKO, Nev. – The Bureau of Land Management, Elko District Office, the Jarbidge, Mountain City and Ruby Mountains Ranger Districts of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest; Nevada Division of Forestry Protection Districts in Northeastern Nevada; and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service lifted fire restrictions on Friday, Oct. 26 that have been in place since July.

Recreationists are reminded to be fire safe with all their outdoor activities, including ensuring campfires are not left unattended and their campfires are dead out before leaving. Leaving campfires unattended is a class B misdemeanor. Other important reminders for all outdoor enthusiasts include the following:

• Target practice, off-road vehicle use, riding motorcycles/ATVs without a spark arrester, and careless smoking can all cause unwanted wildland fires.
• The use of propane and white gas stoves versus campfires and charcoal grill fires is still preferred in these dry conditions.
• Fireworks are always illegal to possess and use on Nevada’s federal, state, or private lands.
• Firewood cutters must have a chainsaw with a functioning, approved spark arrester screen on the exhaust. Carrying of a shovel and fire extinguisher when cutting wood is also recommended
• Open burning on private land still requires a permit from local fire departments.

For the 2012 fire season, a total of 151,435 acres were burned on public, private, Forest Service and Bureau of Indian Affairs tribal trust lands.  Though some fires took several days to control, more than 94 percent of the 253 fires in the district were successfully contained and controlled during initial attack.

“During the 2011 fire season, 226,853 acres were consumed by fire,” said Dylan Rader, Assistant Fire Management Officer, Elko District BLM. “This was during a time with much more precipitation and higher humidity levels. Our interagency fire management team has done a tremendous job this season in initial attack and containing fires in extended attack. We appreciate the efforts of everyone involved, the local community, the volunteers and our hardworking firefighters.”

 

For more information on public-use restrictions, contact your local Forest Service office at (775) 738-5171; Nevada Division of Forestry at (775) 738-3454; or BLM Elko District Office at (775) 753-0200.