Fire restrictions remain in forest; hunting season opens

The Stanislaus National Forest, closed two weeks ago by federal authorities due to the threat of wildfires, is open again for day use from dawn to sundown with no fires allowed anywhere in the 1,400-square-mile area, which includes 42 percent of the land in Tuolumne County and 11 percent of Calaveras County.

An updated closure order was issued Sunday morning by federal forest administrators in Vallejo, Solano County, in the north Bay Area.

Fire restrictions remain in effect at all elevations in the Stanislaus National Forest.

The restrictions “prohibit using any ignition sources, including campfires, propane or gel-fuel stoves and smoking materials,” Forest Service communications staff said.

Anyone can get in their car and drive up into the forest and park and go for a walk anywhere in

the forest during daytime, Diana Fredlund with Stanislaus National Forest said in a phone interview Monday morning.

The updated closure order allows camping in some developed campgrounds and prohibits dispersed camping in moderate fire hazard and high fire hazard areas.

Dispersed camping is allowed under the current closure order off Highway 108 east of Clarks Fork Road.

Campfires and camp stoves are not allowed anywhere in the Stanislaus National Forest.

Recreational target shooting is prohibited everywhere in the Stanislaus National Forest. Hunters with valid California Fish and Wildlife permits and tags are authorized to hunt in permitted hunting zones.

General hunting seasons for tree squirrel, mountain quail, deer and bear are open in the Stanislaus National Forest, Lt. Darren Walther with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said Monday. General hunting for deer and bear are open in the Stanislaus National Forest in Zone D6 south of the North Fork Stanislaus River and south of Highland Creek.

Hunters have been notified they can use dispersed or developed camping in the low fire hazard zone that begins roughly east of Donnell Reservoir, Diana Fredlund with Stanislaus National Forest public affairs said Monday. No ignition sources, campfires, propane, gel fuel stoves or smoking are permitted.

“They are allowed to hunt in designated zones as long as they have a valid license/ permit and know where the correct zones are,” Fredlund said. “We have no additional restrictions above and beyond what California Fish & Wildlife has in place.”

In high-fire-hazard areas, which reach all the way to Donnell Reservoir on Highway 108, no camping is allowed anywhere, including dispersed camping and developed campgrounds. No overnight stays are permitted. Visits to day-use areas from dawn to dusk are allowed.

In moderate fire hazard areas, which include Pinecrest, camping is allowed in developed campgrounds only. No dispersed camping is allowed.

In low-fire-hazard areas, camping at developed campgrounds and dispersed camping is allowed. No campfires, propane or gel fuel camp stoves and no smoking materials are allowed, and no target shooting is allowed, the same as everywhere else in the federally-managed forest.

A nine-page closure order with a map of the Stanislaus National Forest is at www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/fse_documents/fseprd807371.pdf online. For a list of open campgrounds visit the Stanislaus National Forest home page at www.fs.usda.gov/stanislausonline.