Sequoia National Forest Fire Restrictions 0513-25-05

Associated Documents

Forest Order

Pursuant to 16 U.S.C. § 551 and 36 C.F.R. § 261.50(a), and to protect natural resources and provide for public safety, the following acts are prohibited within the Sequoia National Forest. This Order is effective from June 18, 2025, through November 30, 2025.

1. Building, maintaining, attending, or using a fire, campfire, or stove fire below 5,000 feet in elevation, except in the designated Campfire Areas listed in Exhibits A, B, and C. 36 C.F.R. § 261.52(a).

2. Smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle. 36 C.F.R. § 261.52(d).

3. Operating an internal combustion engine off paved, gravel, or dirt National Forest System roads and trails, except boats on a water surface. 36 C.F.R. § 261.52(g).

4. Welding or operating an acetylene or other torch with an open flame. 36 C.F.R. § 261.52(h).

Pursuant to 36 C.F.R. § 261.50(e), the following persons are exempt from this Order:

1. Any Federal, State, or local officer, or member of an organized rescue or fire-fighting force in the performance of an official duty.

2. Persons with a valid California Campfire Permit are not exempt from the prohibitions listed above. However, persons with a valid California Campfire Permit may use a stove or lantern that uses gas, kerosene, jellied petroleum, or pressurized liquid fuel and has a shut-off valve, or a propane-fueled campfire pit with an on/off switch (wood-burning campfire pits are prohibited) in an area at least five feet from any flammable materials below 5,000 feet in elevation.

3. Persons with a valid 2025 Forest Products Removal Permit (fuelwood permit) from the United States Forest Service are not exempt from the prohibitions listed above but may operate an internal combustion engine off National Forest System roads and trails only to the extent necessary to cut fuelwood, provided the cutting of fuelwood is done in compliance with the terms of the fuelwood permit.

4. Persons with a Forest Service non-special use written authorization to conduct non-recreational activities, such as harvesting timber or forest products, or grazing livestock, are exempt from Prohibition Nos. 3 and 4, to the extent allowed by the written authorization.

5. Recreation Residence Tract permit holders, while at their Recreation Residences and in accordance with the terms of their permits.

These prohibitions are in addition to the general prohibitions contained in 36 C.F.R. Part 261, Subpart A.

A violation of these prohibitions is punishable by a fine of not more than $5,000 for an individual or $10,000 for an organization, or imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both. 16 U.S.C. § 551 and 18 U.S.C. §§ 3559, 3571, and 3581.
Executed in Porterville, California, this 17th day of June 2025.
_____________________________
ANTHONY EDWARDS
Forest Supervisor

Sequoia National Forest

Pacific Southwest Region

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