Fire
Due to unprecedented and historic wildfire conditions throughout the state, the USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region is announcing the temporary closure of all eighteen National Forests in California has been extended another week, until September 21st.
The closure of the forests became effective at 5:00 pm Wednesday, September 9th. Originally, just the eight National Forests in Southern California were closed, with the other ten in the state added two days later.
“The number of large fires and extreme fire behavior we are seeing across the State is historic. These temporary closures are necessary to protect the public and our firefighters, and we will keep them in place until conditions improve and we are confident that National Forest visitors can recreate safely. I ask all Californians and visitors to take these closures and evacuations seriously for their own safety and to allow our firefighters to focus on the mission of safely suppressing these fires.”
– Regional Forester Randy Moore
The Forest Service thanks our partners and the public for their cooperation and understanding of this monumental fire threat. It is critical that all Californians and national forest visitors follow these important closures and restrictions for their own safety and the safety of our firefighters.
Citizens with specific questions within their area may call their local forests for more information.
The Forest Service manages 18 National Forests in the Pacific Southwest Region, which encompasses over 20 million acres across California, and assists forest landowners in California, Hawaii, and the U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands. National forests supply 50 percent of the water in California and form the watershed of most major aqueducts and more than 2,400 reservoirs throughout the state.
For more information, visit www.fs.usda.gov/R5.
