ST. GEORGE — Due to another year of ongoing drought and record low precipitation levels, Color Country Interagency Fire Managers are implementing fire restrictions beginning June 2 at 12:01 a.m.
The restrictions apply to all unincorporated county, state and federally administered public lands in Utah in Washington, Kane, Garfield and Iron counties, as well as the Arizona Strip.
“May through August is typically a critical time for southern Utahns as both visitor numbers and fire danger tends to exponentially increase,” said Bureau of Land Management Color Country and Paria River Districts Fire Management Officer Josh Tibbetts in an interagency news release. “This year’s outlook is no different.
“Predictive services warns that southern Utah’s Energy Release Component (ERC) is approaching critical thresholds. The ERC can serve as a good indicator of what we anticipate a fire season could look like across a designated area, as it tracks seasonal fire danger trends well.”
The fire restrictions include:
• No campfires or open fires outside agency improved and maintained campgrounds and homesites in Southwest Utah. Running water is required on cabins or homesites on unincorporated private land. Devices fueled by liquid petroleum are allowed
• No discharging of fireworks or other pyrotechnic devices outside of incorporated city limits (city-specific restrictions may apply).
• No shooting of exploding targets or tracer ammunition.
• No cutting, grinding or welding of metal in areas of dry vegetation. This includes acetylene
torches.
• No use of equipment without working and properly maintained spark arrestor (if required).
• No smoking near vegetation or outside of a developed recreation site, personal vehicle or building.
• No open fires of any kind are allowed in Zion National Park.
• Campfires are allowed in agency improved and maintained campgrounds at Lava Point.
• Campfires are allowed at Glen Canyon in established campgrounds within established rings and below the high-water mark, only in areas completely void of vegetation.
Please be aware that fire restrictions will be slightly different among agencies and these restrictions do not apply to incorporated cities. Please check the specific fire restrictions with the respective land management agency before visiting.
Local, state and federal fire officials urge Utahns to prevent unwanted wildfires by using their “Fire Sense,” an interagency fire awareness campaign implemented last year to increase public knowledge on how to prevent wildland fires.
For more information on preventing unwanted human-caused wildfires, to review agency-specific restrictions and view reference maps, visit the Utah Wildfire Info and Arizona Interagency Wildfire Prevention web pages.