MARIPOSA – Due to the extreme menace of destruction by fire to life, improved property, or natural resources caused by critical fire weather, and the acute dryness of vegetation along with fire suppression forces being heavily committed to control fires, Cal Fire Unit Chief Nancy Koerperich has suspended the privileges of burning by permit and any other uses of open fire except within incorporated cites as of 8 a.m. on June 15, in Madera, Mariposa and Merced Counties.
This ban includes:
- The use of campfire, except within facilities constructed for that purpose within the confines of a campground established, maintained, and open for public use, whether publicly of privately owned.
- Outdoor smoking, except within motor vehicles while operating or parked on established roads, rest stops, or parking areas cleared of flammable vegetation; within established campgrounds open to the public; or within an area that is at least three feet or approximately one meter in diameter which has been cleared to mineral soil by removal of all flammable vegetation and duff. If your yard has green lawn, you can smoke on the lawn. If not, you must have a 3×3′ area, clear of vegetation down to bare mineral soil.
These bans apply to all State Responsibility Area (SRA) lands within the counties of Madera, Mariposa and Merced. SRA lands are those where Cal Fire has the responsibility for suppressing fires.
In accordance with section 4423.2 of the Public Resources Code, state rangers or other authorized agents of the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) may issue restricted temporary burning permits whenever it can be shown that burning or use of open fire is essential for reasons of public health, safety or welfare.
This order became effective at 8 a.m. on June 15, 2015 and will remain in effect until Chief Koerperich formally terminates the ban.
