North Idaho fire restrictions upgraded
<p>A staircase to the shore of Lake Pend Oreille is all that remains of one residence after being totally destroyed by the wildfire.</p>
<p>A helicopter drops hundreds of gallons of water on hot spots Tuesday as the Cape Horn fire in Bayview spreads to another point further north.</p>
<p>Bayview residents leave their home as Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office marine deputies patrol Lake Pend Oreille. Residents were able to return to their homes starting Thursday.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE - A coalition of land management agencies upgraded fire restrictions to Stage II on Friday for all of North Idaho and parts of Central Idaho.
All campfires are now banned, and so is operating vehicles such as ATVs, UTVs and pickups off designated roads and trails.
The release specifically states these restrictions:
* Building, maintaining, attending, or using a fire, campfire, or stove fire.
* Smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle or building, a designated recreation site or while stopped in an area at least 3 feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable materials.
* Operating motorized vehicles off designated roads and trails in accordance with existing travel management plans for non-commercial purposes including ATVs, UTVs, and pickups.
Jason Kirchner, a spokesman for Panhandle National Forest, said fire danger remains "very high, but we are getting very close to extreme danger."
The new restrictions will be enforced on all private, state and federally managed or protected lands, roads and trails. They will go into effect on Monday.
"The continued extreme drought conditions have prompted the need to prohibit campfires at all locations and employ 'hoot owl' regulations, as well as several other restrictions," said Suzanne Endsley, a spokeswoman for U.S. Bureau of Land Management. "These restrictions will be in place until conditions warrant them being rescinded."
Hoot owl regulations refer to commercial logging and firewood gathering operations. The release specifically prohibits the following acts between 1 p.m. and 1 a.m., and any work done outside the time restriction must include one hour of patrolling the area for fires after the work is completed:
* Operating a chain saw or other equipment powered by an internal combustion engine for felling, bucking, skidding, processing, road building and woodcutting or any other activity employing the use of an internal combustion engine or off-road activity associated with industrial operations or firewood gathering.
* Blasting, welding, or other activities that generate flame or flammable material.
* Using an explosive.
The BLM has also banned all campfires on its lands in eastern Washington, including in developed recreation areas.
Fire managers implemented initial fire restrictions in late June and have now updated them to prohibit the building, maintaining, attending or using a fire of any type, including charcoal briquette fires on lands administered by the BLM's Spokane District. An exemption is made for liquefied and bottled gas stoves and heaters provided they are used within an area at least 10 feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable material. The updated fire restriction will go into effect on Saturday.
In addition to prohibiting campfires, restrictions on the use of off-road vehicles, smoking, shooting of exploding targets and the use of fireworks is still in effect.
Stephanie Israel, also with the Panhandle National Forest, said in addition to the general requirements described in the release, the Forest Service encourages all forest visitors to have a bucket and shovel on hand while recreating in the forest during Stage II restrictions.
"Additionally, special use permittees should be aware these restrictions apply to all of their operations," she said, adding contractors operating on the national forest need to refer to the fire plan included in their agreements to ensure safe and legal operations.
"Drought conditions coupled with very high and trending to extreme fire danger levels continue to persist in northern and central Idaho," according to the release. "These unprecedented conditions have prompted fire restrictions to be raised to Stage II in accordance with the criteria established in the 2015 Idaho Fire Restrictions Plan for all lands in the Coeur d'Alene and Grangeville Dispatch areas, as well as Zone 4 of the Payette Dispatch area."
The Coeur d'Alene Fire Restrictions area includes all land located in Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai, Shoshone, Benewah, and Latah counties.