Current Fire Restrictions on the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests:

STAGE 2 FIRE RESTRICTIONS

Under Stage 2 Fire Restrictions, the following acts are prohibited on state and federally managed or protected lands, roads, and trails:

• Building, maintaining, attending, or using a fire, campfire, or stove fire.
• 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.
• Operating motorized vehicles off designated roads and trails in accordance with existing travel management plans.
• The following acts are prohibited from 1:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. A patrol is required for 1 hour (3 hours for anyone engaged in a Forest Operation requiring a Certificate of Compliance) 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 during industrial operations or firewood 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:

• Persons with a written permit that specifically authorizes the otherwise prohibited act.
• Persons using a fire or stove fire fueled solely by liquid petroleum or LPG fuels. Such devises, including propane campfires, may be used only in an area cleared of flammable material.
• Persons using stove fires with a chimney of at least five (5) feet in length and employing a spark arrester with a maximum mesh screen opening of ¼ inch on federal lands designated as the Frank Church River of No Return, Gospel Hump, or Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Areas.
• Persons using metal fire pans* (see definition) within ¼ mile of:
• a. The Salmon River from the Corn Creek launch site to Vinegar Creek.
• b. The Middle Fork of the Salmon River.
• c. The Selway River from the Paradise boat launch to Race Creek.
• d. The Snake River from Hells Canyon Dam to the City of Lewiston.
• e. The Salmon River from Vinegar Creek to its mouth at the Snake River below the mean high water  mark.
• *A metal fire pan with sides at least three inches high with a metal grate on top. Pack-out of ashes is required.
• Persons using a generator with an approved spark arrester on areas that are cleared of all flammable materials within three feet of the generator.
• Log loading and hauling only from landings and existing roads.
• Private landowners using charcoal (disposed of properly) or propane barbecues on their own lands.
• Crop lands.
• Emergency repair of public utilities and railroads as per attached conditions in Stage II Exemptions for Public Utilities and Railroads, Appendix 10.
• Any federal, state, or local officer, or member of an organized rescue or firefighting force, in the performance of an official duty.
• Persons conducting activities in those designated areas where the activity is specifically authorized by written posted notice.
• All land within a city boundary.

An exemption does not absolve an individual or organization from liability or responsibility for any fire started by the exempted activity.

State-wide fire restriction information is available at www.idahofireinfo.com.

The Idaho Fire Information website (www) is an interagency website developed by federal and state agencies in Idaho to provide timely and accurate information for wildland fires, fire restrictions, fire prevention, and education across the state. Our aim is to provide one website where the best available information and links related to fire can be accessed.

For questions about fire restrictions on the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests, please call (208) 935-2513 or your local ranger district office.