There is a lot of information floating around today in Utah about new fire restrictions. Pretty much without exception, campfires are now banned in the Uintas.

Completely understandable given how dry it is up there - but many of us have called the ranger stations today to confirm the other part of the ban - camp stoves. Essentially, they are saying any and all flames are banned until further notice.

I personally called the Kamas Ranger station today, and they confirmed with me. She also said to "call back tomorrow, we're hoping to remove the ban on camp stoves." Which to me, makes it sound like someone made a mistake.

Has anyone heard of this type of universal ban before? I can't recall anytime I've heard of restrictions this extreme.

There was a similar ban last summer and fall for many National Forests and State Parks here in Texas due to the extreme drought...

Edited by jdw01776 on 06/13/2012 10:56:45 MDT.

Ugh. Fire Bans equal no happyfuntime. Lets hope this gets resolved and doesn't spread to CO. That Fire near Ft. Collins is making a lot of people twitchy.

When I was a teen in AZ in the 90's, several Nat'l Forests were CLOSED due to fire danger one summer. Not 'no fires', But 'Closed- Do Not Enter'.

I'm still not convinced the information the folks on the phone are sharing is accurate. I see nothing in the official releases that suggests camp stoves are banned. Only from phone calls.

I'm going to naively assume that they are simply misunderstanding the actual restrictions.

I was curious if there is actual precedent for a universal ban, as I couldn't recall one. Sounds like it's not that far fetched though... Hope it doesn't come to that.

Official press release here - no mention of camp stoves.

Fire Restriction PDF

That seems a little broad to incorporate canister stoves and the like into the ban. Even with the ban down here in Washington County, Zion Canyon still excludes propane and other gas stoves from the ban.