Forest Service temporarily closes all national forests in California due to extreme fire danger
The U.S. Forest Service announced Wednesday that it is temporarily closing the remaining 10 national forests in California, including Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, Eldorado National Forest, Plumas National Forest and Tahoe National Forest. On Monday, the Forest Service closed 8 national forests, and put statewide restriction closures on campgrounds, resorts, day-use areas and beaches.
The closure of the additional 10 forests goes into effect at 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Besides Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, Eldorado, Plumas and Tahoe National Forests, the remaining closures are Klamath National Forest, Lassen National Forest, Mendocino National Forest, Modoc National Forest, Six Rivers National Forest, Shasta-Trinity National Forest. This decision will be re-evaluated daily as conditions change.
Forest Service officials note that "explosive growth" of fires throughout California during the day and late evening of Sept. 8 led to this updated decision.
Among the new fires to erupt is the #ForkFire west of Lake Tahoe on the Eldorado National Forest which is currently 2,500 acres with zero percent containment as of early Wednesday afternoon.
“The number of large fires and extreme fire behavior we are seeing across the State is historic," said Regional Forester Randy Moore. "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."
In a news release, the Forest Service offered thanks to its 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 news release states.
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.
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