Fire restrictions end in areas overseen by Bureau of Land Management in Southern Utah

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SOUTHWESTERN UTAH — With cooler weather prevailing in the region, the Bureau of Land Management has announced that fire restrictions have ceased areas of central and southwest Utah managed by the agency, but officials caution that fire danger is still present.

On Sunday at 8 a.m., the BLM’s Color Country and Paria River districts rescinded the fire bans put in place months ago across BLM public lands in Piute, Sanpete, Sevier, Wayne, Washington, Iron, Beaver, Garfield and Kane counties.

“While we had an unheard of number of human caused fires this year, we also had an enormous amount of support and conscientious recreationists who checked Utah Fire Info’s website or called ahead before visiting,” acting Color Country District Manager Paul Briggs said in a press release. “Just as most people did their part, we will continue to do ours, by working with our partners in the Utah Watershed Restoration Initiative to help restore habitats to a state that are naturally more fire resistant.”

Statewide, Utah has experienced a very active 2020 wildfire season and even though fire restrictions are being reduced across both the Color Country and Paria River Districts, fire managers cautiously emphasize that the potential for large and rapid-growing fires is still present.

“This has been an unprecedented wildfire season both locally and across our nation,” District Acting Fire Management Officer Clair Jolley said. “But vigilance and responsible recreation are crucial to preventing any additional wildfires this year.”

This fire season, Color Country fire managers issued multiple fire prevention orders outlining fire restrictions in southwest and central Utah. Effective Nov. 1, those fire restriction orders are rescinded.

“The rescission of these orders doesn’t mean we’re out of the woods,” Paria River District Manager Harry Barber said. “The threat of another wildfire remains and we must be cognizant that there are still year-round restrictions in place across all public lands. As these restrictions may vary, visitors should always check with local authorities to verify what restrictions remain in place throughout the year.”

For more information on preventing unwanted human caused wildfires, visit utahfireinfo.gov or on Twitter @UtahWildfire. For more information about the benefits of landscape-scale habitat restoration, visit Utah’s Watershed Restoration Initiative.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

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