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Post by paula53 on Sept 7, 2020 14:23:20 GMT -8
The U.S. Forest Service announced the closures Monday, along with additional prohibitions, as two new wildfires broke out in Southern California, threatening homes in San Bernardino County and critical instruments and transmitters up at Mt. Wilson Observatory.
The national forest closures include:
Stanislaus
Sierra
Sequoia
Inyo
Los Padres
Angeles
San Bernardino
Cleveland
All other national forest lands in the state are now subject to the following restrictions:
Prohibition of all ignition sources (campfires, gas stoves, etc.)
All campgrounds and day-use sites closed
“The wildfire situation throughout California is dangerous and must be taken seriously," said Randy Moore, Regional Forester for the USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region, in a written statement.
"Existing fires are displaying extreme fire behavior, new fire starts are likely, weather conditions are worsening, and we simply do not have enough resources to fully fight and contain every fire. We are bringing every resource to bear nationally and internationally to fight these fires, but until conditions improve, and we are confident that National Forest visitors can recreate safely, the priority is always to protect the public and our firefighters."
The measures go into effect at 5 p.m. Monday and will be re-evaluated daily, according to the forest service.
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Post by paula53 on Sept 7, 2020 15:09:25 GMT -8
No stoves are permitted. Anywhere in the forest. That includes backpacking stoves.
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toejam
Trail Wise!
Hiking to raise awareness
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Post by toejam on Sept 7, 2020 16:07:29 GMT -8
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rebeccad
Trail Wise!
Writing like a maniac
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Post by rebeccad on Sept 7, 2020 19:44:06 GMT -8
What about stoves inside RVs?
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Sept 8, 2020 12:29:21 GMT -8
With “ All campgrounds and day-use sites closed”
I expect that doesn’t come up.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Sept 12, 2020 7:56:05 GMT -8
I was headed for the Tahoe Natl Forest last week, for a backpacking trip. I was headed towards the Fordyce Lake area, from my house in Auburn, CA. The sky was as blue as can be, so it then looked like no smoke in that area. So I go on an unpaved road in my 4WD Jeep towards the lake, to find a sign that says "area closed ahead" because of some major construction at the dam. The sign also said the area will reopen in year 2023! It was getting late, so I decided to just head here to my Reno home and head for the Island Lakes area the next day. And now, because of the fires, the entire Tahoe Nat'l Forest is closed.Now, I think it is closed to everybody.Here in Reno, right now, the AQI is 229 "very unhealthy" I can only see a few yards out my window, where I normally have a nice view of Mt Rose. -Don- Reno, NV |
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Sept 15, 2020 10:25:14 GMT -8
Sequoia National Park is entirely closed. Oddly enough, not Kings Canyon though there’s no road access through Sequoia.,,, “ Closure of Sequoia National Park, including Mineral King, and Potwisha and Lodgepole Campgrounds Sequoia National Park is implementing a full park closure at 6 am on September 15 in response to the Castle Fire on the SQF Complex. Many park staff have been evacuated from the area and for visitor and resource protection, park managers have decided to close all entrances to Sequoia National Park.” www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/conditions.htm |
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almostthere
Trail Wise!
putting on my hiking shoes....
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Post by almostthere on Sept 18, 2020 6:33:49 GMT -8
All the parks and forests in the Sierra are now closed.
The smoke has us in a constant twilight... and I'm still waiting for the sheriff to tell me I can go get my car from the trailhead it's sitting at.
sighhhh....
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2020 9:39:10 GMT -8
and I'm still waiting for the sheriff to tell me I can go get my car from the trailhead it's sitting at. How did that happen? -Don- |
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almostthere
Trail Wise!
putting on my hiking shoes....
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Post by almostthere on Sept 18, 2020 10:06:05 GMT -8
and I'm still waiting for the sheriff to tell me I can go get my car from the trailhead it's sitting at. How did that happen? -Don-
168 closed while I was backpacking. Not the only car out there either. The sheriff's office says they will take us back out to get them at some point - some talk of doing it this weekend but nothing set in stone. Some people hiked out over the passes to the east, some were flown out.
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Sept 26, 2020 11:47:36 GMT -8
Some openings taking place: Kings Canyon and Yosemite. The USFS seems to be taking a more cautious approach. I gather from a Sierra NF post Regional HQ has continuing visitor caused wildfire concerns based on the weather forecast.
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almostthere
Trail Wise!
putting on my hiking shoes....
Posts: 696
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Post by almostthere on Sept 27, 2020 7:45:10 GMT -8
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Oct 2, 2020 17:45:19 GMT -8
Whitney Portal and Lone Pine campgrounds are reopening Friday.
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tonyc
New Member
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Post by tonyc on Oct 6, 2020 8:57:52 GMT -8
I have a group of teens and we were headed backpacking this weekend 10/8 - 10/12 up in Inyo (Little Lakes Valley) which is now closed. We live in San Diego. Any suggestions on where we could go for a few days and still have a little backcountry experience? I've looked at so many places that are closed. We are in San Diego.
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Oct 6, 2020 10:27:26 GMT -8
Yosemite? There’s loops out of Tuolumne and parking overnight is allowed in the Tioga road until 10/15. Rafferty Credk, Vogelsang, Ireland Lake, Lyell Canyon, back to vehicles. For one. With a wilderness permit there’s no daily entry reservation needed. yosemite.org/planning-your-wilderness-permit/Or, perhaps, Sequoia Kings Canyon who has a different WP process (iirc Yosemite has a 9 day out window for processing so that’s not possible for this weekend). www.nps.gov/seki/index.htm“ Outside the quota season (September 20, 2020 – May 28, 2021), Wilderness permits are free, self-issued, and are not limited to daily entry quotas. Self-issue wilderness permits are available at the nearest permit-issuing station.There is no fee for self-issue permits. Please fill out the permit legibly, the information you provide on your self-issued permit may be helpful in a search and rescue incident .” 300 ish miles. Easy drive. Graduated from UCSD, worked at Salk Institute. Did those drives a lot....have a great time! |
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