LAKEVIEW, Ore. – Thanks to shorter days, cooler temperatures and increasing humidity recovery, several wildfire agencies across Klamath and Lake Counties have agreed to lift Public Use Restrictions in many areas, reduce the fire danger and lower the Industrial Fire Precaution Level (IFPL) this Friday.
The Fire Danger Level will be lowered from “Extreme” to “High”. But even with days are getting shorter and humidity levels are increasing, fire officials want to remind the public that fuels are still dry and caution should still be used to prevent wildfires.
“We know the public is eager to get back to normal fall activities, like woodcutting and hunting camps,” said Interagency Deputy Fire Management Officer Coley Neider. “Conditions are improving enough to allow chainsaw use and campfires, but the forest and desert are still dry. We are asking everyone to be careful to not start a wildfire.”
Public Use Restrictions will also be lifted on the Fremont-Winema National Forest and the Sheldon-Hart Mountain and Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge Complexes. Restrictions will also be lifted on the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Lakeview District with the exception of the Klamath River Canyon. Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) Regulated Use Closures remain in effect. The IFPL is also being reduced from Level III to Level II (Partial Hootowl) on federal lands.
“Fire season is continuing in Klamath and Lake counties and while the risk is reduced, current conditions can still carry wildfire quickly,” said Randall Baley, ODF Protection Unit Forester in Klamath Falls. “There is a need to remain vigilant over the coming weeks while conditions continue to gradually improve on public and private wildlands.”
On top of the reduction to the Fire Danger Level in Klamath and Lake Counties, the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest will also be decreasing the fire danger rating from “High” to “Moderate” on all ranger districts across the forest, effective at 12:01 a.m. September 28, 2021.
The Industrial Fire Precaution Level will also reduce from a Level II to a Level I. Campfire restrictions remain under a Level II; campfires are allowed in concrete or metal fire rings in designated campgrounds only.
Campfire restrictions will remain at a Level 2 within the boundaries of the Wild section of the Rogue National Wild and Scenic River from Grave Creek to the mouth of Watson Creek. Level II does not allow campfires but does allow for pressurized liquid or propane stoves and charcoal briquettes within a raised fire pan below the high-water mark.
“As a result of receiving an average of .25” precipitation accumulations across the forest, we’re ready to lower IFPL levels, but we’re not quite ready to relax the public use restrictions,” said Assistant Fire Staff Officer Mike McCann.
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September 28, 2021 at 06:05AM
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Fire danger level decreasing across Klamath and Lake Counties on Friday - KDRV
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