7/14/2014
Reed Hollinshead
ITD Communication
208-334-8881
reed.hollinshead@itd.idaho.gov
Stage 1 Fire designation means restrictions for Owyhee County motorists
BOISE - Fueled by hot, dry conditions and an extremely high fire danger, Owyhee County will go into a Stage 1 Fire Restriction as of 11:59 p.m. Wednesday (July 16). Drivers in the rural southwest Idaho county are urged to take precautions against starting a wildfire, particularly with the combination of super-heated vehicle tailpipes or undercarriages, and dry, highly flammable weeds.
Sections of Idaho 19, Idaho 51, Idaho 78, Idaho 55 and U.S. 95 run through Owyhee County
“A Stage 1 Fire restriction essentially means that there can be no campfires unless it’s in an approved recreation site, and no smoking is allowed unless there is sufficient bare ground,” said Kevin Moriarty, Boise BLM spokesman.
Moriarty said the designation is determined by the fuel-moisture reading for the area – meaning Owyhee County is hot, dry and has not seen any moisture in a long time, and weeds and vegetation are dry and extremely susceptible to fire.
Under State 1 Fire Restrictions, the following acts are prohibited on restricted state and federally managed lands, roads and trails:
• Building, maintaining, attending or using a fire, campfire, stove fire except within an agency- designated recreation site and only within an agency-provided structure, or on a private citizen’s own land and only within an owner-provided permanent structure.
• Smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle, building or designated recreation site, or while stopped in an area at least three feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable materials.