All California national forests are closing because of risks of wildfires
The U.S. Forest Service will be closing all of California’s national forests starting late Tuesday until the 17th of September. According to the agency, the said closures will aid to “better provide public and firefighter safety due to the ongoing California wildfire crisis.” As forecasts show, the threat is still extensive and can get worse.
The closures will take effect on August 31 at 11:59 p.m. local time and will end at the same time on September 17. Though the closure order doesn’t include the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. It’s not in the greatly affected wildfire area of the Pacific Southwest region.
Regional forester Jennifer Eberlien said, “We don’t take this decision lightly but this is the best choice for public safety.” She adds, “It is especially hard with the approaching Labor Day weekend when so many people enjoy our national forests.”
We made the difficult decision to temporarily close all National Forests in CA in order to better provide public & firefighter safety due to extreme fire conditions. This will be effective on Aug. 31 at 11:59 p.m. through Sept. 17 at 11:59 p.m. MORE: https://t.co/bm1dODBoLZ pic.twitter.com/QVLnyJSwGH
— Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region (@usfs_r5) August 31, 2021
The Forest Service noted in its notice the factors why they have come up with such a decision. This includes public safety when there are emergency circumstances along with the decreasing “potential for new fire starts at a time of extremely limited firefighting resources”.
As Forest Service officials reported, there are more than 6,800 wildfires. These have burned 1.7 million acres of forest land across California. These wildfires are a major threat to wildlife, people, and property.
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While California isn’t new to massive wildfires, officials stated they are concerned about the “record level” state of dry fuels and fires. As per their experience, the wildfires are behaving abnormally. With limited resources to fight fires, there is no predicted relief from upcoming weather conditions in late fall. This was in reference to Monday’s announcement.
Implementing the closures can help in two ways – by minimizing the number of people in harm’s way. The other is by discharging potential sources of ignition for new wildfires.
The officials also listed the criteria for individuals exempted from the order. Those who have specific permits and who’s a federal, local, or state officer on official duty are exempted.
