Campfires are prohibited in all parks or recreation facilities operated by the Linn County Parks & Recreation Department, due to high fire danger, public safety concerns and limited firefighting resources across the Western United States, the county has announced.
The ban was put in place today, July 23. It will continue until further notice.
The ban includes designated campfire areas, barbeque grills, charcoal fires, cooking fires, warming fires, charcoal briquettes, pellet grills, candles, tiki torches and other devices that emit flames or embers.
Portable cooking stoves, propane lanterns, barbeque and fire-rings using liquefied or bottle fuels are allowed.
The ban covers all Linn County managed parks and recreation facilities and includes prohibitions on fires in designated fire rings. It includes Cascadia State Park, as well as several U.S. Forest Service campgrounds along the South Santiam River east of Sweet Home.
The public can also anticipate restrictions in other areas based on fire dangers, the county said in a statement.
Also, the U.S. Forest Service announced Friday that it has established a tool that members of the public can use to check fire information for more than one forest, quickly and easily. The new resource can be found on the U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region website, at https://go.usa.gov/xFTHh.
Website visitors will find current fire information and usage restrictions for all National Forests in Washington and Oregon on one page, in an easy-to-use, at-a-glance format.
The page can also be found linked to the U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region website’s homepage, or by clicking “Fire & Aviation,” “Fire Information,” “Current Fire Status,” and “Fire Restrictions Across the Region” at the top of the page.
The chart displays fire risk levels (low, moderate, high, very high and extreme), common public use restrictions (PURs) – such as whether campfires are allowed in or outside of designated fire rings, if there are limits on ATV and chainsaw use, and industrial fire precaution levels (IFPLs) for each forest.
It also includes a link to current forest orders which links with each forest’s “Alert’s and Notices” page where current fire and other related closure information are posted. These forest orders may include large area or forest closures and other restrictions necessary to protect resources and ensure public safety. 