COEUR D'ALENE, ID - Drought conditions coupled with extreme fire danger levels
continue to persist in northern Idaho. These conditions have prompted fire
restrictions to be raised to Stage 2 in
accordance with the criteria established in the 2017 Idaho Fire Restrictions
Plan for all lands in the Coeur d'Alene Dispatch area. Stage 2 Fire Restrictions
will be implemented beginning at 12:01 a.m. on August 16, 2017, and will remain
in effect until further notice.
Stage 2 Fire Restrictions are being
implemented in the Coeur d'Alene Fire Restriction Area, which includes all
state, federal, and private forestland and rangeland in Benewah, Bonner,
Boundary, Kootenai, Shoshone, and Latah Counties. This also includes public
lands in Washington and Montana that are administered by the Idaho Panhandle
National Forests. These restrictions are being implemented by agencies managing
lands or providing wildland fire protection in the area, including the Bureau
of Land Management (BLM), the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, Kootenai Tribe ofldaho,
Idaho Department of Lands (IDL), the U.S. Forest Service (USPS), and the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).
Under Stage 2 fire restrictions, the
following acts are prohibited on the
restricted private, state and federally managed or protected lands, roads and
trails:
1.
Building, maintaining, attending, or using a fire, campfire, or stove fire.
2.
Smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle
or building, a designated recreation
site or while stopped in an area at least three feet in diameter
that is barren or cleared of all flammable materials.
3.
Operating motorized vehicles
off designated roads and trails in accordance with existing travel management plans for non-commercial purposes including ATVs, UTVs, and pickups.
4.
The following acts are prohibited from 1:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.: (A patrol is required
for one hour following cessation
of all work as described
in a, b and c below.)
a.
Operating a chainsaw
or other equipment powered by an internal combustion engine for felling,
bucking, skidding, processing, road building and woodcutting or any other
activity employing the use of an internal
combustion engine or off-road
activity associated with industrial operations or fire wood gathering.
b. Blasting, welding, or other activities that generate flame
or flammable material.
c.
Using an explosive.
The following are exemptions to the Stage 2 Fire
Restrictions:
1.
Persons with a written
permit that specifically authorizes the otherwise prohibited act.
2.
Persons using
a fire or stove fire fueled
solely by liquid petroleum or LPG fuels: Such devices,
including propane campfires, may be used only in an area cleared of flammable material.
3.
Persons using a generator with an approved spark arrester on areas that are cleared
of all flammable materials within three feet of the generator.
4. Private landowners using charcoal (disposed of properly) or propane barbecues
on their own lands.
5. Normal operations on crop lands.
6.
Emergency repair of public utilities and
railroads as per conditions in Stage II Exemptions for Public Utilities and
Railroads. Please see Appendix 10 of the 2017 Idaho Interagency Fire
Restrictions plan available at htt
p:// www.idahofireinfo.com/ .
7.
Any federal,
state, or local officer, or member of an organized
rescue or firefighting force, in the performance of an official duty.
8.
Persons conducting activities in those designated areas where the activity is specifically authorized by written posted notice.
9.
All land within a city boundary.
With the extreme conditions the
region is experiencing, fire managers are asking the public to be extra
cautious when spending time in the outdoors. As a reminder, fireworks are
prohibited on state and private forestland and rangeland, and on public lands,
roads, and trails in Idaho during closed fire season (May 10 through October
20). Possession and/or use of fireworks
is always prohibited on federal public lands.
Please visit http://www.idahofireinfo.com/p/fire-restricti
n .htmJ for a
detailed map and current information regarding fire restrictions or contact the
local land management office.
