The Associated Press
RENO, Nev.- Fire restrictions will take effect Friday in the Tahoe National Forest, as summer’s heat has evaporated the benefits of a wet winter that delayed extreme fire danger, the U.S. Forest Service said.
The restrictions ban campfires except in developed campgrounds and other designated sites where metal rings and grills are provided.
Smoking is restricted to vehicles or developed recreational sites, and charcoal barbecues are banned.
In the backcountry, portable stoves using gas, jellied petroleum or pressurized liquid fuel are allow with a permit.
“Fire season is here and with the continuing hot, dry weather, we need the public’s help in being fire safe,” said Forest Supervisor Steve Eubanks.
Illegal and abandoned campfires are the main reason for human-caused fires in the forest, Eubanks said. Last year rangers found more than 200 such fires, and so far this year there’s been more than 50.
Similar restrictions were imposed in late June and July for most of Nevada.