Fire restrictions begin Tuesday

Drought conditions, increasing daytime temperatures and high winds have prompted the Bureau of Land Management, Carson City District Office, the Carson and Bridgeport Ranger Districts of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, and the Nevada Division of Forestry's Sierra Forest Fire Protection District to announce the implementation of fire restrictions on Tuesday and lasting until further notice.

Vegetation in Western Nevada and Eastern California has dried out significantly since receiving only about 50-percent of normal snowfall last winter. A large crop of grass and brush is evident at lower elevations and trees and other forest vegetation at higher elevations are quickly drying out. The public is encouraged to safely enjoy the public lands, bearing in mind that the recent Martis, Waterfall, Andrew and Hawken fires were all human-caused.

Motorists are advised to be careful when driving off-road, because hot exhaust systems can ignite dry grasses. The potential for another devastating fire during the summer is very real. Report fires to the Interagency Dispatch Center, Minden, Nevada, (775) 883-5995, or dial 911.

1. Building, maintaining, attending or using a fire (using wood, charcoal or any other material), campfire, or stove fire except a portable stove using gas or pressurized liquid fuel, outside of a developed fee campground or picnic area (except by permit).

2. Smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle or at a developed campground or picnic area.

3. Welding, or operating an acetylene torch with open flames, except by permit.

4. Using or causing to be used, any explosive, except by permit.

5. Possession or use of fireworks, or any other incendiary device.

6. Use of tracer rounds, steel-core ammunition or exploding targets while recreational shooting.

7. Open burning (e.g. weeds, brush and yard debris).

In addition, the Nevada Division of Forestry restrictions within the Sierra Fire Protection District prohibit operating vehicles off of existing hard surface gravel roads or dirt roads in wildland areas, and operating vehicles or equipment traveling on or using wildland areas without at least an axe, shovel and one gallon of water. The BLM and the Forest Service recommend avoiding cross-country travel whenever possible to prevent grass from igniting from hot exhaust systems. All agencies recommend that individuals carry cell phones while in the wildlands or national forests to report wild fires.

BLM -all areas, roads and trails on the BLM-Carson District outside of developed recreation sites with the exception of Sand Mountain Recreation Area, and the portion of the Walker Lake Recreation Area within 100 yards of Walker Lake, or between Walker Lake and U.S. Highway 95 where camp fires are permitted.

Forest Service - all areas, roads and trails, with the exception of campfires covered by a valid campfire permit in the Hope Valley & Blue Lakes areas.

NDF - all areas, roads and trails within the boundaries of the Sierra

Forest Fire Protection District in Carson City and Storey County. This

order also applies to the following state parks: Lake Tahoe Nevada,

Washoe Lake, the Carson River Ranches portion of Ft. Churchill, and

Dayton in western Nevada, and Beaver Dam, Cave Lake and Spring Mountain

in Southern Nevada.