California National Forests to Close Due to Extreme Fire Threat

Several national forests in California are set to close on Monday because of dangerous fire threats all over the state.

It is believed that the fire threat will only get worse with the arrival of strong winds in California this week.

The U.S. Forest Service said the move was only to protect visitors from the increased fire threat. There are eight national forests that will close at 5 p.m. Monday, NBC Los Angeles noted.

The National Forests in Southern California include Angeles National Forest, San Bernardino National Forest, Los Padres National Forest, and Cleveland National Forest.

In the national forests that will remain open, ignition sources like gas stoves and campfires will be banned. All developed campground and day-use sites will also be closed, said a CBS Los Angeles report.

The closures and restrictions will be evaluated daily, forest officials said.

California Wildfires Show Extreme Fire Behavior

"The wildfire situation throughout California is dangerous and must be taken seriously," said Randy Moore, regional forester for the USDA Forest Service.

He added that the current fires are showing extreme behavior. The new fires are also getting worse due to weather conditions.

Dry weather and triple-digit heat signatures have been seen across much of California during Labor Day weekend.

An excellent example of "extreme fire behavior" would be Creek Fire on the Sierra National Forest. It erupted on September 4 and grew bigger over the weekend. It made a 15-mile run in just one day and reached over 78,000 acres as of Monday evening.

One massive blaze, the El Dorado Fire, has burned about 8,600 acres of San Bernardino National Forest since it sparked on Saturday afternoon. As of Monday, it has only been 7% contained, said a KTLA report.

The fire sparked in a gender reveal party. The fire ballooned to a 7,300 blaze and forced thousands to evacuate.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles Daily News reported that the Bobcat Fire had burned 4,900 acres as of Monday afternoon. The fire ignited on September 6.

There are dozens of blazes burning all over the state amid the extreme heatwave.

In Southern California, strong winds are expected to pass by from Tuesday through Wednesday. These conditions could make the already brutal blaze even harder to fight.

California Fire Crew Barely Took Breaks

Limited resources and access had become a challenge for some 150 fire crew battling the blazes. Last month, Cal Fire reported over 6,000 wildfires that burned down over 1 million acres.

"We simply do not have enough resources to fully fight and contain every fire," he said.

Moore said the USDA is bringing all resources it can bear "nationally and internationally" to fight the fires. Until conditions improve, Moore is confident that visitors to the forests can recreate safely.

He said the USDA's priority is to protect the public and the firefighters. With the temporary closures and support efforts, they are hoping to achieve that goal. Fire crews were still battling some fires on Monday.

California has 18 national forests. These facilities make up roughly 3,125 miles of the state. According to the Forest Service, that would be about a fifth of the state's total land area.

Check these out!

Newsom Declares State of Emergency in Five California Counties
Favorable Weather Boosts Battle Against California Wildfires
Lightning Strikes Add to Raging California Heat, Thousands Evacuate