Umatilla National Forest moves to Phase A public use restrictions

Published 11:02 am Thursday, July 3, 2025

PENDLETON  — The U.S. Forest Service is implementing public use restrictions on the Umatilla National Forest due to increased fire danger and dry weather conditions.

The Forest Service in a press release announced Phase A of the public use restrictions goes into effect at 12:01 a.m. Friday, July 4. The restrictions apply to smoking, off-road travel and chainsaw use.

Phase A is the first level of restrictions, which the Forest Service generally implements when the fire danger is moderate to high. The Forest Services phase in the restrictions collectively, as conditions warrant, and the restrictions may differ from forest to forest. Restrictions under Phase A for the Umatilla National Forest are as follows:

• Chainsaws may be operated only between the hours of 8 p.m. and 1 p.m. A one-hour fire watch is required after saw operations cease. Saw operators are required to have an axe (minimum of 2 pounds, a head and 26 inches long), a shovel (8 inches wide and 26 inches long) and a fire extinguisher (minimum ABC 8 ounces) in their possession.

These restrictions don’t apply, however, to chainsaw operations associated with commercial and personal use firewood permits.

• Smoking is allowed only in enclosed vehicles, buildings or cleared areas at least 3 feet in diameter.

• No off-road/off-trail vehicle travel or travel on roads not cleared of standing grass or other flammable material; no vehicle travel on those Forest Service roads where earthen berms, logs, boulders, gates or other barriers impede or block access, except to travel to and from a dispersed campsite with 300 feet of open and developed road. Vehicles must be parked in an area devoid of any vegetation and flammable material.

Forest officials also recommend the following campfire safety precautions:

• Campfires should be in fire pits surrounded by dirt, rock, or commercial rings and in areas not conducive to rapid fire spread. All flammable material shall be cleared within a 3-foot radius from the edge of the pit and free of overhanging material. Use existing pits wherever possible. (Note: within the Grande Ronde Scenic Waterway, campfires must be contained in a fireproof container (i.e., “fire pan”) with sides of a height sufficient to contain all ash and debris, and all ashes and debris must be removed from the river corridor. Do not use or construct fire pits or rock fire rings within the scenic waterway.)

• Wood burning stoves should be equipped with a chimney at least 5-feet in length with a spark arresting screen consisting of ¼ inch mesh hardware cloth. All combustible material should be removed within a 3-foot radius of the perimeter of stoves.

• Campfires must be attended at all times and completely extinguished prior to leaving.

• Persons with campfires should carry a tool that can serve as a shovel and 1 gallon of water in their possession to be able to completely extinguish their campfire.

Lands under the protection of the Oregon Department of Forestry also could have public use restrictions. For more complete information, contact a local ODF office or visit one of the interagency dispatch centers’ webpages:

Blue Mountain Interagency Dispatch: www.bmidc.org.

John Day Interagency Dispatch: bicc-jdidc.org/index.shtml.

For more information about the Umatilla National Forest’s public use restrictions, contact the Umatilla National Forest Information Hotline at 877-958-9663, visit the website at www.fs.usda.gov/r06/umatilla, or visit the Blue Mountain Fire Blog at bluemountainfireinfo.blogspot.com.