Los Padres forest bans campfires, target shooting due to ‘abnormally dry’ conditions
If you’re planning to camp soon in Los Padres National Forest, don’t bring any firewood or charcoal — and leave the target-shooting equipment at home.
Nearly 81% of California has been categorized as being in “abnormally dry” conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor map released Nov. 12. The abrupt shift in the classification is due in part to reassessments of “60-day precipitation deficits, high evaporative demand and vegetation health,” officials found.
In all Los Padres National Forest areas, wood and charcoal fires are banned through Dec. 31, under heightened fire restrictions imposed recently due to the extremely dry vegetation and increasing fire danger. The ban includes designated campfire-use sites, according to information released to media outlets on Nov. 12.
Those locations include the wilderness areas of Ventana, Silver Peak, Santa Lucia, Garcia, Machesna, San Rafael, Dick Smith, Matilija, Sespe and Chumash, and such popular Big Sur area sites as the developed campgrounds of Plaskett Creek and Kirk Creek.
People with a valid state campfire permit may still use portable stoves and lanterns fueled by gas, jellied petroleum or pressurized liquid fuel, but only within designated campfire-use sites listed at Los Padres National Forest website.
Campfire and barbecue restrictions are among the precautions national forest officials are taking under the designation of “extreme fire danger.” Violators may face a fine of $5,000 and/or six months in jail.
Recreational target shooting is prohibited in all areas of the national forest, unless specifically authorized by a special use permit from the U.S. Forest Service. Hunting with a valid state license during open hunting season, however, is exempt from the target-shooting prohibition.
In Los Padres National Forest areas, people who smoke can do so only in an enclosed vehicle, a building where smoking is allowed or a designated campfire-use site.
There’s also a yearround restriction which states that, before an internal- or external-combustion engine can be used on any road or trail in the forest, the engine must have a properly installed and maintained spark-arresting device in good working order.
To get a free campfire permit, call a Forest Service district office near you or go to www.preventwildfireca.org/Campfire-Permit.
For details about current conditions at Los Padres National Forest, plus safety tips, go to www.fs.usda.gov/lpnf.
This story was originally published November 22, 2019 at 5:00 AM.
