Fire Season Starts June 5 on ODF-Protected Lands in Southwest Oregon

Fire season begins Friday, June 5, at 12:01 a.m. on lands protected by the Oregon Department of Forestry’s Southwest Oregon District. Lands affected by this declaration include state, private, county, city, and Bureau of Land Management forestlands in Jackson and Josephine counties.

The public regulated use fire danger level will be “moderate” (blue) and the Industrial Fire Precaution Level will be 1 (one).

Beginning Friday, the burning of debris piles and the use of burn barrels for burning debris will no longer be allowed. Other public regulated use restrictions on ODF-protected forestlands include:

• No fireworks;
• No tracer ammunition or exploding targets;
• No sky lanterns.

In the Wild and Scenic Section of the Rogue River, between Grave Creek and Marial, the following public regulated use restrictions also go into effect on Friday:

• Campfires must be in fire pans or on a fire blanket that is placed on sand or gravel bars between the river and the high water mark, and only in areas which are naturally free of flammable vegetation;
• Smoking will be permitted on sand and gravel bars between the river and the high water mark, and only in areas naturally free of flammable vegetation, or in boats and rafts while on the river;
• Travelers must carry a shovel and a bucket with a capacity of at least one gallon;
• No fireworks.

Concurrent with the ODF fire season declaration, public use restrictions are now in effect for the U.S. Forest Service portion of the Wild and Scenic Section of the Rogue River. For more information, visit the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest website. For additional information on Forest Service fire danger levels and Industrial Fire Precaution Levels, go to http://ormic.org/fire_danger.shtml

Under Industrial Fire Precaution Level 1 on ODF-protected lands, commercial operations, such as timber harvesting conducted on forestlands, will be required to have fire suppression equipment on the job site at all times. A watchman must also be provided.

For more information about the Oregon Department of Forestry’s fire season regulations, please call or visit the Southwest Oregon District unit office nearest to you:

• Medford Unit, 5286 Table Rock Rd., Central Point. (541) 664-3328
• Grants Pass Unit, 5375 Monument Dr., Grants Pass. (541) 474-3152