Federal and state agencies have begun restricting campfire use on lands located within the boundaries of the Wild and Scenic section of the Rogue River to provide for public safety and protect natural resources.
The Medford District of the Bureau of Land Management, Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest and Oregon Department of Forestry enacted campfire restrictions today on the Wild Section of the Rogue that flows from Grave Creek to the mouth of Watson Creek.
The order became effective today at 12:01 a.m. and it runs until November 30th, unless rescinded sooner.
The restrictions prohibit the building, attending or use of a fire in most cases. But campfires are permitted within a raised fire pan or similar device that will contain the fire and its residue, free of natural vegetation and below the high-water mark on the wild section of the river. All ashes are to be carried out.
When using commercially-produced pressurized liquid gas stoves, cooking areas are to be naturally free of vegetation. Each group is required to have a shovel and a bucket. Smoking is prohibited except while aboard a watercraft while navigating or at rest on a waterway or on sand and gravel bars between the river and the high-water mark naturally free of flammable vegetation.
Possessing, discharging or using any kind of firework or other pyrotechnic device is strictly prohibited.
Additional restrictions may be put in place as fire season progresses.
