National
Forests
CLOSED to PUBLIC
Vallejo, CA, Wednesday September 9, 2020 – Due to unprecedented and historic fire conditions throughout the state, the USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region is announcing a temporary closure of an additional ten
National Forests, meaning all eighteen National Forests in California are now closed. The closure of the additional ten forests were effective at 5:00 P.M . Wednesday.
These additional forests include the Eldorado National Forest,
Klamath National Forest, Lassen National Forest, Mendocino National Forest,
Modoc National Forest, Six Rivers National Forest, Plumas National Forest,
Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Tahoe National Forest, and Lake Tahoe Basin
Management Unit. This decision will be re-evaluated daily as conditions
change.
We closed eight National Forests Monday evening, September 7,
2020. Explosive growth of fires throughout California during the day and late
evening of September 8th led to this updated decision.
“The number of large
fires and extreme fire behavior we are seeing across the State is
historic," said Regional Forester Randy Moore. "These temporary
closures are necessary to protect the public and our firefighters, and we will
keep them in place until conditions improve and we are confident that National
Forest visitors can recreate safely. I ask all Californians and visitors to
take these closures and evacuations seriously for their own safety and to allow
our firefighters to focus on the mission of safely suppressing these fires."
The Forest Service thanks our partners and the public for their
cooperation and understanding of this monumental fire threat. It is critical
that all Californians and national forest visitors follow these important
closures and restrictions for their own safety and the safety of our
firefighters. Citizens with specific questions within their area may call their
local forests for more information.
The Forest Service
manages 18 National Forests in the Pacific Southwest Region, which encompasses
over 20 million acres across California, and assists forest landowners in
California, Hawaii and the U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands.
National forests
supply 50 percent of the water in California and form the watershed of most
major aqueducts and more than 2,400 reservoirs throughout the state. For more
information, visit www.fs.usda.gov/R5
Caring for the land
and serving people.