STAGE II FIRE RESTRICTIONS BEGIN

Albuquerque, NM, May 6, 2011 – Cibola National Forest and Grasslands Supervisor Nancy Rose announced that several Ranger Districts and Grasslands will begin on Stage II fire restrictions starting on May 9, 2011. Due to increasing fire danger, these restrictions are deemed necessary to prevent human-caused wildfires and to protect public health and safety. These restrictions will remain in force until rescinded.

“Although we’ve received some precipitation recently, it hasn’t been enough to reduce the drought conditions that we’re experiencing on these units,” said Rose. “In addition, the National Weather Service’s outlook for May through July is predicting extreme drought across portions of southern New Mexico, northern and western Texas, and the Oklahoma panhandle region.”

Current Fire Restrictions for the Cibola National Forest and Grasslands are:

• Magdalena Ranger District: Stage II Fire Restriction will begin on Monday, May 9, 2011 at 8:00 a.m.
• Mountainair Ranger District: Stage II Fire Restriction will begin on Monday, May 9, 2011 at 8:00 a.m.
• Sandia Ranger District: Stage II Fire Restriction will begin on Monday, May 9, 2011 at 8:00 a.m.
• Kiowa and Rita Blanca National Grasslands: Stage II Fire Restriction will begin on Monday, May 9, 2011 at 8:00 a.m.
• Black Kettle National Grasslands: The Stage II Fire Restrictions placed on March 8, 2011 remain in effect.
• McClellan Creek National Grasslands: There currently are no fire restrictions.
• Mt. Taylor Ranger District: There currently are no fire restrictions.

Stage II Fire Restrictions include:

1. Building, maintaining, attending or using a fire, campfire, charcoal, coal, wood or stove fire 
2. Using an explosive 
3. Smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle or building 
4. Possession, discharging or using any type of firework or pyrotechnic device 
5. Operating a chainsaw or other equipment powered by an internal combustion engine is prohibited from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. 
6. Welding or operating acetylene or other torch with open flame 
7. Operating or using any internal or external combustion engine without a spark arresting device that is properly installed, maintained and in effective working order. They must meet either USDA Forest Service or appropriate Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) recommended practice 
8. Possessing or operating motorized vehicles off National Forest System roads, including but not limited to cars, trucks, SUVs, motorcycles and ATVs.

The current Fire Restriction orders can be found on the Cibola’s web site: 

http://www.fs.usda.gov/cibola in the “Alerts and Notices” section.

Useful Information:

Southwest Coordination Center: http://gacc.nifc.gov/swcc/
National Interagency Fire Center: http://www.nifc.gov/
National Incident Information Center: http://www.fs.fed.us/news/fire
FireWise: http://www.firewise.org/

Regional Fire Restrictions Hotline: 1.877.864.6985