BLM Issues Fire Restrictions for Natrona County

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has issued a stage-1 fire restriction for federally managed land in Natrona County Wednesday.

The following acts are prohibited:

• Building, maintaining attending or using fire or campfire except within agency-provided grates ad developed recreation sites or within fully enclosed stoves with a quarter-inch spark arrester screen or within fully enclosed grills or in stoves using pressured liquid or gas.
• Smoking, except in an enclosed vehicle or building, a developed recreation site or while stopped in an area at least three feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable materials.
• Operating a chainsaw without a USDA or SAE approved spark arrester properly installed and working. If you are operating a chainsaw that meets the criteria, the BLM requires there to be an eight-ounce fire extinguisher on hand and a round-point shovel that's at least 36 inches in length.
• Using a welder, either arc or gas, or operating acetylene or other torches with open flame, except in cleared areas at least 10-feet in diameter with a chemical pressurized fire extinguisher of not less than eight ounces in capacity.

Year-round, the BLM prohibits discharging fireworks, shooting a firearm with tracer or incendiary ammunition, burning tires or wires with magnesium and operating any off-road vehicle not properly equipped with a spark arrester.