Safety First

Please be aware of these alerts and notices because many unexpected situations can present difficult challenges for forest visitors.

Be well informed and prepared for your next visit to the forest. Know before you go!

Before venturing out, contact the nearest Forest Service office for recent information on alerts, advisories, notices and closures.

To report an emergency, please call 911.

Alerts

• Closed trails and recreation sites

  Date(s): May 26, 2022

  Closure order 08-22-05, effective May 26, 2022:

  • Closed campgrounds: Letts Lake Campground, Mills Valley Campground, Masterson Group Campground

  Updated closure order 08-22-01 for Ranch and August Complex wildfires, effective Feb. 16, 2022:

  • Closed trails: Trail No. 85463
  • Closed recreation sites: Cedar Camp Campground, Copper Butte Trailhead, Hammerhorn Campground, Kingsley Glade Campground, Lower Nye Campground, Plaskett Meadows Campground, Smokehouse Ridge Trailhead, Sugar Springs Campground, West Crocket Trailhead, West Crocket Campground

   

• Fire Restrictions

  Date(s): Jun 28, 2022

  Fireworks, pyrotechnics, explosives, any internal or external combusion engine without a spark arresting device are prohibited on all national forests.

  Campfire permits are required and can be obtained on readyforwildfire.org.

  Learn more in Regional Order 22-02.

• Road Conditions

  Date(s): Jun 8, 2022

  High-clearance vehicles recommended. Hazard trees, unstable slides, rockfall could make roads impassable at any time.

  FH7: Passable from Willows to Covelo.

  M1: Impassable due to slide at Bar Creek. Detour is to take Forest Road M4 north to Forest Road M2 then 23N39 (Espee Ridge Road) west. Route adds two hours driving time. 

  M2: Downed trees reported.

  M5: Passable, watch for fallen trees and branches, sinkholes. Low water crossing. Watch out for the masticators working in the area.

  M9: Passable, watch for fallen trees and branches, sinkholes.

  M10: Passable, watch out for creek crossing on Rice Creek.

  M21: Impassable about 1 mile from Hammehorn campground due to downed trees.

  22N11: Passable.

  20N71: Impassable due to rock slide.

• Limited front office hours

  Date(s): Apr 29, 2022

  Beginning May 2, 2022, the front office for the Forest Supervisor’s office in Willows will temporarily close until permanent visitor services positions are filled. Phone calls will be forwarded to the Upper Lake Ranger District front office. Firewood permits can be mailed to the Upper Lake office at 10025 Elk Mountain Road, Upper Lake, California 95485. The front desks for the Stonyford and Covelo work stations are also temporarily closed due to short staffing.

• Safety Hazards in a Burned Landscape

  Date(s): Apr 1, 2022

  A burned landscape presents a number of safety hazards that either did not exist prior to the fire or have been exacerbated by the effects of the fire. In some cases these hazardous conditions may persist for several years after a fire. Be very aware of your surroundings, follow warning signs, area closures and directions from agency personnel, and pay particular attention to potential safety hazards. 

  • Avoid parking or pitching tents under dead standing trees.
  • Use extreme caution in high winds.
  • Downed trees, dropped limbs, stump holes and unstable terrain may be present. 
  • Let someone know where you're going.
  • Carry a chainsaw in case roads become impassable. 
  • Roads are subject to landslides, rockfall, erosion, debris flows and flooding after storms. 
• Forest Order 08-21-06: Developed campground stay limits

  Date(s): Oct 6, 2021

  Developed campground camping stay limits go into effect across the Mendocino National Forest on Thursday, Oct. 7, 2021 through Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023. Visitors may camp in the same developed recreation campground for 14 days within any 30-day period but no more than 28 cumulative days in any 12-month period.

  Read the full forest order: Order 08-21-06 Developed campground stay limits

• Forest Order 08-21-05: Dispersed camping stay limits

  Date(s): Oct 6, 2021

  Dispersed camping stay limits go into effect across the Mendocino National Forest on Thursday, Oct. 7, 2021 through Friday, Oct. 6, 2023. The stay limits apply to developed campgrounds and dispersed camping locations. Visitors may camp in the same location outside a one-mile radius of a developed recreation site for 14 days within any 30-day period but no more than 28 cumulative days in any 12-month period.

  Read the full forest order: Order 08-21-05 Dispersed camping stay limit

• News Release: Drought forces water shut off at campground

  Date(s): Aug 9, 2021

  Contact(s): Frank Aebly

  Covelo, Calif., August 9, 2021— The Mendocino National Forest will be shutting off water to the Eel River Campground in Covelo beginning Monday, Aug. 10.  The spring that supplies water to the Eel River Campground and the Eel River Fire Station is drying up.

  To help prolong the delivery of water to the firefighters living at the Eel River station, the water to the campground will be turned off. As a result, visitors to the campground will need to bring their own water.

  “It’s unfortunate that we have to turn off water to the campground,” said District Ranger Frank Aebly. “But even with mitigation, I suspect water delivery from the spring will cease very soon, and we will need to truck in potable water just to supply the firefighters that live and work at the Eel River workstation.”

  Full News Release here

View More Alerts

Closures

• Critical Forest Order 08-22-05: Campgrounds Closed for Public Safety

  Date(s): May 26, 2022

  Closure order 08-22-05, effective May 26, 2022:

  • Closed campgrounds: Letts Lake Campground, Mills Valley Campground, Masterson Group Campground
• Critical Trail 85303 on the Grindstone Ranger District closed due to landslide

  Date(s): Apr 19, 2022

  Trail 85303 is closed between Trail 85304 and M5 Road for public safety and to protect natural resources. Unstable soil, downed trees and a steep drop off make this trail unsafe for users, forest officials said. The landslide covers about 200 feet of the trail. The closure remains in effect until the slide is cleared and the trail stabilized, or the trail is rerouted.

  Unstable terrain is one of several hazards in a burned landscape. Forest officials remind visitors and residents that post-fire areas can have increased potential for flash floods, debris flows, falling trees and rockfall in heavy rain, snow or wind. Forest Order 08-22-03 and the associated map “Exhibit A” map are available online.

• Critical Forest Order 08-22-01: Ranch Fire and August Complex Closures

  Date(s): Feb 16, 2022

  Updated closure order for Ranch and August Complex wildfires, effective Feb. 16, 2022.

  • Closed trails: Trail No. 85463
  • Closed recreation sites: Cedar Camp Campground, Copper Butte Trailhead, Hammerhorn Campground, Kingsley Glade Campground, Lower Nye Campground, Plaskett Meadows Campground, Smokehouse Ridge Trailhead, Sugar Springs Campground, West Crocket Trailhead, West Crocket Campground

  See full closure order here.

• Critical M1 Road Closure at Bar Creek Slide

  Date(s): Oct 25, 2021

  Weekend storms triggered a landslide on Forest Road M1 at Bar Creek, about three miles north of the Eel River Work Center. Forest officials have closed the road to assess damage and plan repairs. See more info

• Forest Order 08-22-02: Chico Seed Orchard Spring and Summer Hours

  Date(s): Mar 14, 2022

  Chico Seed Orchard summer hours are 7 a.m. - 7 p.m.  March 14 - Oct. 31. A closure is in effect outside of these hours. Please read Order No. 08-22-02 for more information.