CEDAR CITY, Utah — Color Country Interagency Fire Center, or CCIFC, announced fire restrictions for counties surrounding Dixie National Forest Wednesday. The restrictions went into effect Thursday, June 2.

The CCIFC is a cooperative effort made up of the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs and the State of Utah Forestry, according to the agency’s webpage.

The restrictions extend to the Arizona Strip and all unincorporated county, state and federally administered public lands in Washington, Kane, Garfield and Iron counties.

The CCIFC cited current drought conditions when issuing the restrictions.

“May through August is typically a critical time for southern Utahns as both visitor numbers and fire danger tends to exponentially increase. This year’s outlook is no different,” said BLM Fire Management Officer Josh Tibbetts.

“Predictive services warns that southern Utah’s Energy Release Component — ERC — is approaching critical thresholds. The ERC can serve as a good indicator of what we anticipate a fire season could look like across a designated area, as it tracks seasonal fire danger trends well,” Tibbetts added.

The restrictions include:

• No campfires or open fires, except on “agency improved and maintained campgrounds and home sites in southwest Utah.”
• No fireworks or pyrotechnics.
• No smoking near vegetation.

A full list of restrictions and stipulations can be found on Utah Fire Info’s website.

Restrictions across southeastern Utah also went into effect Thursday.

Related:

• Fire in St. George a reminder about fireworks safety and fire awareness

• Fiery, smoky summer ahead. Do your part to prevent wildfires from starting

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