Yuma County, Arizona (KYMA, KECY) – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) keeps western Arizona safe as wildfire activity increases, expected to peak as the climate continues to heat and dry. is playing its role. .
Beginning Friday, May 26, BLM will enforce seasonal fire regulations in Yuma, Mojave, and La Paz counties.
Maintaining bonfires, using charcoal, coal, wood stove fires, smoking, and firing firearms or gas guns are all prohibited.
BLM spokeswoman Dolores Garcia said, “Many locations have restricted the use of abrasive welding torches, which has restricted working with metals that can cause sparks outdoors, and that too. It will be BLM land,” he added.
So make sure you’re not on BLM land before you put up your campfire. Failure to do so may have serious consequences.
“In addition to having to pay, there are also fines, and depending on the scale of the fire, you may also have to pay for the extinguishing costs. It costs us $1 million a day for the resources we bring in,” Garcia said.
Tribal, federal, state, and local government obligations are different and may have minor differences in restriction notices. As changes are possible, visitors should check with their local office for any region-specific restrictions and regulations.
Henry Arnold, a visitor from San Diego, said he had been coming to Yuma for years to fish, but the fires had changed the landscape.
“Smoking, garbage.
according to Southwest Coordination CenterThere have been more than 350 wildfires in Arizona this year already, and more than 1,200 wildfires will break out in 2022, burning more than 145,000 acres.
Garcia tells us that driving a car on grass can start a fire, and that can be prevented.
“The lower part of the car from the exhaust system and the catalytic converter under the car get hot enough to cause a fire,” says Garcia.
In the unlikely event of a fire, please call 119 immediately.
BLM said the restrictions will be lifted once the risk of wildfires subsides.
You can find a map of BLM management sites here Learn more about BLM here.
