For Immediate Release
Contact: Scott Boyd (509) 536-1200
Release No: OR130-FY2008-018

July 15, 2008



Fire Restrictions on Bureau of Land Management
Lands in Eastern Washington


Spokane - A regulated fire closure on lands administered by the Spokane District, Bureau of Land Management will take effect at 12:01 a.m. July 17, 2008.
The following Eastern Washington counties: Adams, Asotin, Benton, Chelan, Columbia, Douglas, Ferry, Franklin, Garfield, Grant, Kittitas, Klickitat, Lincoln, Okanogan, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, Walla Walla, Whitman, Yakima, will be affected by the closure.

The regulated fire closure prohibits the following acts on affected lands:

· Operating any type of motorized vehicle off developed roadways with the exception of the OHV Area at Juniper Dunes Recreation Area which will remain open. Parking of vehicles off roadways must be done in an area barren of flammable materials. Developed roadways are those that are clear of flammable debris berm to berm.

· Building, maintaining, attending or using a fire, campfire or stove fire, including charcoal briquette fire. Liquefied and bottled gas stoves and heaters are permitted provided they are used within an area at least 10 feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable material. Fires within steel rings at improved campgrounds will also be deemed legal including the Yakima River Canyon, Coffeepot, Twin Lakes, Liberty, Chopaka, Washburn and Pacific Lake sites.

· Smoking while traveling in timber, brush or grass areas, except in vehicles on roads, or cleared areas at least 3 feet in diameter, or on boats on rivers and or lakes.
On all public lands within the Spokane District, ignition of fireworks is prohibited. Violation of these prohibitions is punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 or to imprisonment of not more than 12 months, or both.

For complete details on the restrictions, please see the official Regulated Fire Closure Order at the BLM website: http://www.blm.gov/o.../fire/index.php

For additional information, please contact the Spokane BLM District Office, telephone (509) 536-1200.

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Cheyne Rossbach
Public Affairs
Contact Representative
BLM Spokane District Office
1103 N Fancher Rd
Spokane Valley, WA 99212
(509) 536-1200

Thanks Lori. Lets hope there is some rain in the near future.

I got lucky last year when I showed up at Radar Dome mountain the day after it rained. Best riding conditions I have ever had. That was late August so luck was really on my side.

Greg

I'm not familiar with the area so I'm going to ask a question that might sound dumb to you Washingtonians.....Does this closure affect the GPNF? We were thinking about heading that way this weekend. Thanks for any info.

GPNF is Forest Service, so check with them. Also, be advised that there is a fire in the GP below Mt. Adams. Here's a link....http://www.inciweb.org/incident/1428/

Im confused , does this include natches and taneum? just BLM land and not forest service?
Thanks

I spoke with a USFS lady this morning and she explained the closures to me. As far as she stated, the only things closed to motoroized access in the GPNF are roads 23, 80 and 82. She wasn't the most informative but that's what she said. If you're planning on riding GPNF, it's probably worth more investigation.

I think I'm going to stay on the south side of the river until things slow down up there:thumbsup:

The BLM Closure only affects BLM land but, this time of year, it's a good idea to check with whatever agency manages the area you plan to ride either online of via phone.

In NE WA, we have a trail system that runs across both WA DNR and FS land and sometimes it will be open on the FS part but closed on the DNR part. All depends on who manages the land.

Does anyone know about the Ahtanum area outside of Union Gap? I'll be camping in that area for about a week later this month and wanna make sure it's okay to ride my bike in the mountains there.

Does this affect (effect?) the Saddle Mtns out of Mattawa?

aderuwe said:

Yes it does!

TONY

Any updates on this? Mighty early for fire season, its gonna be bad this year.