ST. GEORGE – Color Country Fire Management officials will lift fire restrictions in Washington County, Utah and the Arizona Strip beginning Friday, September 16 at 12:01 a.m.
Recent rainfall and lower temperatures in southwestern Utah and on the Arizona Strip have reduced the risk of wildland fires enough to allow the restrictions to be rescinded.
In Utah, this includes lifting restrictions on campfires outside of developed areas and smoking on all public and unincorporated private lands in Washington County, Utah. Campfire restrictions in Watchman and South Campgrounds in Zion National Park are lifted as well. On the Arizona Strip, fire restrictions are lifted on all portions of Bureau of Land Management administered lands. Campfires outside developed areas are allowed on the National Park Service portion of the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument on the Arizona Strip.
“Even though the fire danger has decreased, there is still potential for fire activity in Southwest Utah and Northwest Arizona,” said Zion National Park Fire Management Officer Taiga Rohrer. “The abundant grasses in our area are still there and will rapidly dry out increasing the fire danger once the current weather pattern changes. We are continuing to urge people to be extremely careful with the use of fire and any other activities that may start a fire including off road driving, grinding, welding or cutting of metal and target shooting in areas that are adjacent to wildland fuels.”
The public should be aware that burn permits are still required for all debris burning on private lands throughout the state of Utah. The public should contact their local fire department or county fire warden to obtain a permit.
For More Information: For more information on fire activity in the Color Country Fire Management area, the public can call the Color County Fire Information Hotline at 1-866-447-1283. For more information on fires in Utah visit www.utahfireinfo.gov. For more information on fires in Arizona visit http://www.azfireinfo.az.gov/. For more information on fires across the country, visit www.inciweb.org.