Elevated fire season restrictions affect target shooting, campfires in desert areas

Rene Ray De La Cruz, Victorville Daily Press
·2 min read

Campers and target shooters heading out to remote desert areas might want to take notice after a recent announcement by the Bureau of Land Management.

The bureau has elevated its seasonal fire restrictions beginning May 22 through October 24 for public lands managed by the BLM California Desert District.

The restrictions are of BLM lands within San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Imperial, southern Inyo, eastern Mono, San Diego, and eastern Kern counties.

The Bureau of Land Management has elevated its seasonal fire restrictions for public lands managed by the BLM California Desert District.
The Bureau of Land Management has elevated its seasonal fire restrictions for public lands managed by the BLM California Desert District.

These restrictions may be terminated sooner if conditions warrant, BLM officials stated.

“Fire restrictions protect visitors, communities, adjacent private lands and natural resources from the risk of wildfire,” said California Desert District Manager Shelly Lynch. “Following and staying educated on fire restrictions helps protect your public lands and minimizes fire potential.”

The seasonal Fire Prevention Order places in effect stage I and II fire restrictions for the California Desert District, as shown on the online map.

Target shooting, campfire restrictions

The elevated restrictions address the use of campfires, controlled flame devices, target shooting and smoking on public lands.

The order prohibits recreational target shooting on BLM-managed public lands within San Diego, eastern Kern, western Riverside, western San Bernardino and eastern Los Angeles counties. Recreational shooting restrictions do not impact hunting.

The actions prohibited by the seasonal Fire Prevention Order are in addition to acts already outlined in the statewide Fire Prevention Order and the California Desert District Year-round Fire Restrictions.

“Because 95% of wildfires in the California Desert District are human-caused stage I and II, and recreational shooting restrictions are designed to help minimize the risk,” said BLM California Desert District Fire Management Officer Paul Gibbs.

The public is reminded to follow these precautions:

  • Always have a five-foot circle cleared around your campfire and have a California Campfire Permit.

  • Maintain a five-foot diameter clearance around campfires.

  • Always have a shovel and plenty of water on hand and put your campfire DEAD OUT, before leaving.

  • Never use steel targets, steel jacketed, steel core, or incendiary ammunition for recreational shooting as they are more likely to cause a fire.

  • No campfires or recreational target shooting during any Red Flag Warning or Fire Weather Watch.

  • Park vehicles away from areas where exhaust could cause grass or other combustibles to ignite.

  • If you are asked to evacuate, please do so immediately.

  • If you plan to mow your yard or clear weeds, please do so early in the morning and on cooler days with no wind.

Violation of this order is punishable by a fine of up to $100,000 or imprisonment of up to 12 months, or both. The public can find additional information about wildfires on CAL FIRE’s website.

Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on X @DP_ReneDeLaCruz

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Elevated fire season restrictions affect visitors in desert areas