The USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region announces that current closure orders and fire prohibitions in California have been extended. This decision will be evaluated daily, taking fire and weather conditions into account. The fire prohibition includes building, maintaining, attending, or using a fire, campfire, or stove.

Nine National Forests (NF) in California remain closed: Angeles NF, Cleveland NF, Los Padres NF, Inyo NF, Klamath NF, San Bernardino NF, Sequoia NF, Sierra NF, and Six Rivers NF. This decision will continue to be reviewed daily.

Nine other National Forests may be open to varying degrees. Visitors should contact the following National Forests for more information on their status: Eldorado NF, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, Lassen NF, Mendocino NF, Modoc NF, Plumas NF, Shasta-Trinity NF, Stanislaus NF, and the Tahoe NF. For additional questions, please contact your local National Forest.

“Continued closures are based on extreme fire conditions, critical limitations of firefighting resources, and to provide for firefighter and public safety,” said Randy Moore, regional forester for the USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region. “We understand how important access to the National Forests is to our visitors. Our aim is to prevent any new fires on the landscape.”

If you do intend to visit a National Forest that is open to visitors, we continue to recommend that you not travel long distances to recreate. If you or anyone in your household is feeling sick, please remain at home and plan your trip for another time. All visitors should practice self-sufficiency during your visits to national forests. Recreating responsibly will help ensure that expanded access to recreational facilities, services, and opportunities continues. Responsible recreation practices should be maintained at all times, including:

– Maintaining at least six feet distancing from others

– Do not gather in groups and please follow the latest guidance from officials

– Communicate with others as you pass. Alert trail users of your presence and step aside to let others pass

– Pack out your trash and leave with everything you bring in and use.

– All services may not be available, so please plan accordingly.

The Forest Service manages 18 National Forests in the Pacific Southwest Region, which encompasses over 20 million acres across California, and assists State and Private 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.