(Pendleton, OR, July 16, 2026) — Umatilla National Forest officials will implement Phase B Public Use Restrictions at 12:01 a.m. (pacific time) on Friday, July 17, 2026, due to high fire danger, the potential for human-caused fires, and concern for public safety. The increased restrictions pertain to the use of campfires, smoking, chainsaws, internal combustion engines, and generators.
Beginning Friday, campfires will ONLY be allowed in designated campgrounds and recreation sites. Liquified or bottled gas stoves and heaters are allowed for cooking and heating. A list of designated recreation sites is available on the forest website.
Operating an internal combustion engine, such as a chainsaw, is prohibited without a valid permit. Commercial and personal use firewood permits are regulated by the conditions of the permit and separate from restrictions under this public use restriction.
Generators will only be allowed if located in an area that has been cleared at least 10 feet in diameter of all flammable material or when factory installed in a recreational vehicle and the exhaust discharge is located in the center of an area at least 3 feet in diameter cleared of all flammable material.
As a reminder, travel restrictions prohibit motor vehicles traveling off designated Forest roads and trails, except for the purposes of going to or from campsites located within 300 feet of an open road. Motorized travel on roads not cleared of standing grass or other flammable material, closed by gates, barricades, berms or logs is prohibited. Vehicles must be parked in an area that is barren or cleared of all vegetation and flammable material.
Regulated closures may be in effect on State and private lands protected by Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) in northeast and central Oregon. Please check with your local Oregon Department of Forestry office for PURs on lands protected by ODF. For more complete information, contact a local Oregon Department of Forestry office or visit one of the interagency dispatch center’s webpages:
- Blue Mountain Interagency Dispatch: www.bmidc.org
- John Day Interagency Dispatch Center: https://bicc-jdidc.org/jdidc/intelreport.shtml
Similar restrictions may also be in effect on State and private lands protected by the Washington Department of Natural Resources (WA-DNR). More information can be found on the WA-DNR website at: https://www.dnr.wa.gov/.
Fire restrictions may also be implemented on lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). For more details, visit the BLM website at: https://www.blm.gov/programs/fire/regional-info/oregon-washington.
Please remember that it is everyone’s responsibility to know what restrictions are in place when visiting public lands. For more information about the Umatilla National Forest’s Public Use Restrictions, please contact:
Umatilla National Forest
Toll-Free (877) 958-9663
https://fs.usda.gov/r06/umatilla
Blog: https://bluemountainfireinfo.blogspot.com/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/UmatillaNF
X: @UmatillaNF
About the Forest Service: The Forest Service has, for more than 100 years, brought people and communities together to answer the call of conservation. Grounded in world-class science and technology — and rooted in communities — the Forest Service connects people to nature and to each other. The Forest Service cares for shared natural resources in ways that promote lasting economic, ecological, and social vitality. The agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners, and maintains the largest wildland fire and forestry research organizations in the world. The Forest Service also has either a direct or indirect role in stewardship of about 900 million forested acres within the U.S., of which over 130 million acres are urban forests where most Americans live.
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