Campgrounds and day-use areas in Los Padres National Forest and seven other national forests will be closed starting Monday evening due to dangerous fire conditions, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
Starting at 5 p.m. Monday, all developed campgrounds and day-use sites will be temporarily closed, and using ignition sources, such as campfires or gas stoves, is prohibited on all National Forest land.
All trailheads into forest land will have signs indicating the closures, according to Andrew Madsen, public affairs officer for Los Padres National Forest.
“We’re hopeful that the public will comply with this voluntarily so there’s no need for reinforcement,” Madsen said.
“With the high fire weather that is predicted over the next few days, we want to take every precaution we have to slow everything down.”
The closures will be re-evaluated daily, according to the Forest Service, and apply to Stanislaus National Forest, Sierra National Forest, Sequoia National Forest, Inyo National Forest, Los Padres National Forest, Angeles National Forest, San Bernardino National Forest, and Cleveland National Forest.
The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for the Santa Barbara South Coast and mountain areas due to “gusty sundowner winds, low relative humidity, and very hot temperatures” that increase fire risk. The warning is in effect through 10 p.m. Monday night.
During red flag warnings, Santa Barbara-area authorities mark local trailheads with warning signage, and some roadside parking restrictions go into effect.
County Fire has stations fully staffed with personnel and engines during this time, said Capt. Daniel Bertucelli. “We have additional hand crews 24-hour upstaffing while the red flag warning is in effect,” he added.
Large wildfires are burning throughout the state, including several that started during the Labor Day weekend heat wave.
Monday afternoon, a wildfire started in the Miguelito Canyon area south of Lompoc and burned about 15 acres as of 3 p.m.
— Noozhawk staff writer Jade Martinez-Pogue can be reached at jmartinez-pogue@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.