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Fires restrictions notched up a level:
North Idaho going up to Stage II restrictions |
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July 11, 2015 |
Drought conditions coupled with very high and
trending to extreme fire danger levels continue
to persist in northern and central Idaho. These
unprecedented conditions have prompted fire
restrictions to be raised to Stage II
in accordance with the criteria established in
the 2015 Idaho Fire Restrictions Plan for all
lands in the Coeur d’Alene and Grangeville
Dispatch areas (which includes
Boundary County, see the list below),
as well as Zone 4 of the Payette Dispatch area.
Stage II Fire Restrictions will be implemented
beginning at 11:59 p.m. on July 13, 2015, and
will remain in effect until further notice.
Under Stage II fire restrictions, the
following acts are prohibited on the restricted
private, state and federally managed or
protected lands, roads and trails:
1. Building, maintaining, attending, or using a
fire, campfire, or stove fire.
2. Smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle or
building, a designated recreation site or while
stopped in an area at least three feet in
diameter that is barren or cleared of all
flammable materials.
3. Operating motorized vehicles off designated
roads and trails in accordance with existing
travel management plans for non-commercial
purposes including ATVs, UTVs, and pickups.
4. The following acts are prohibited from 1:00
p.m. to 1:00 a.m.: (A patrol is required for one
hour following cessation of all work as
described in a, b and c below.)
a. Operating a chainsaw or other equipment powered by
an internal combustion engine for felling,
bucking, skidding, processing, road building and
woodcutting or any other activity employing the
use of an internal combustion engine or off-road
activity associated with industrial operations
or fire wood gathering.
b. Blasting, welding, or other activities that generate
flame or flammable material.
c. Using an explosive.
Exemptions
1. Persons with a written permit that
specifically authorizes the otherwise prohibited
act.
2. Persons using a fire or stove fire fueled
solely by liquid petroleum or LPG fuels. Such
devices, including propane campfires, may be
used only in an area cleared of flammable
material.
3. Persons using stove fires with a chimney of
at least five (5) feet in length and employing a
spark arrester with a maximum mesh screen
opening of ¼ inch on federal lands designated as
the Frank Church River of No Return, Gospel Hump
or Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Areas.
4. Persons using metal fire pans* (see
definition) within ¼ mile of:
a. The Salmon River from the Corn Creek launch site to
its mouth at the Snake River.
b. The Middle Fork of the Salmon River.
c. The Selway River from the Paradise boat launch to
Race creek.
d. The Snake River from Hells Canyon Dam to the City of
Lewiston.
*Pack-out of ashes is required.
5. Persons using a generator with an approved
spark arrester on areas that are cleared of all
flammable materials within three feet of the
generator.
6. Log loading and hauling only from landings
and existing roads.
7. Private landowners using charcoal (disposed
of properly) or propane barbecues on their own
lands.
8. Normal operations on crop lands.
9. Emergency repair of public utilities and
railroads as per attached conditions in Stage II
Exemptions for Public Utilities and Railroads,
Appendix 10.
10. Any federal, state, or local officer or
member of an organized rescue or firefighting
force, in the performance of an official duty.
11. Persons conducting activities in those
designated areas where the activity is
specifically authorized by written posted
notice.
12. All land within a city boundary.
Important Note: An
exemption does not absolve an individual or
organization from liability or responsibility
for any fire started by the exempted activity.
Stage II Fire Restrictions are being implemented
by agencies managing or providing wildland fire
protection to private and public lands in the
area, including the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM), Clearwater Potlatch Timber Protective
Association (CPTPA), the Coeur d’Alene Tribe,
Idaho Department of Lands (IDL), Idaho
Department of Fish and Game (IDFG), the Nez
Perce Tribe, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), and
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). Fire
restrictions are intended to decrease the chance
of any preventable fires in the designated
areas.
Stage II fire restrictions will be in effect in
the following areas: (For a detailed map showing
all Idaho Fire Restriction Areas, please visit:
http://idahofireinfo.blogspot.com/p/fire-restrictions.html)
• Coeur d’Alene Fire Restrictions Area, All
Zones: All land located in Bonner,
Boundary,
Kootenai, Shoshone, Benewah, and Latah Counties.
• Grangeville Fire Restrictions Area, Zone 1 and
2: All of Nez Perce, Clearwater, and Lewis
Counties. Those portions of Idaho County that
are north of the Salmon River (east of Riggins),
west of Highway 95 (south of Riggins) and are
not federal lands designated as wilderness, as
well as that portion of Adams County that lies
within the Hells Canyon National Recreation
Area.
• Payette Fire Restrictions Area, Zone 4 ONLY:
(see map for detail): All state, private, and
BLM managed land (except that located within
National Forest System boundaries) south of the
main Salmon River to Smokey Boulder road.
Please visit
http://idahofireinfo.blogspot.com for
current information regarding fire restrictions
or contact the local land management office.
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