Yellowstone Implementing Trail Closures And Fire Restrictions

Date: August 6, 2012

National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior

Yellowstone National Park
P.O. Box 168
Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190
   
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 6, 2012           12-058    

Al Nash or Dan Hottle
[phone]
[e-mail]

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YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK NEWS RELEASE
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Yellowstone Implementing Trail Closures And Fire Restrictions

Continued hot, dry conditions and a potential for increased fire activity have prompted Yellowstone National Park to reinstate fire restrictions and close some hiking trails and backcountry campsites.

The Dewdrop Fire, several miles east of Canyon Village, is the largest of five fires actively burning in the park. It is currently estimated at 25 acres. As a precaution, the following backcountry campsites and trail segments north and east of the Dewdrop Fire were closed Monday afternoon:

- Astringent Creek Trail at the junction of the Lower Pelican Creek Trail.
- Upper Pelican Creek Trail at the junction of the Lower Pelican Creek Trail.
- Wapiti Lake Trail East of campsite site 4M2 to Wapiti Lake.
- Fern Lake Trail
- Backcountry campsites 4B1, 4B2, 4B3, 4B4, 4W2, 4W3, 5B1, 5B2, and 5P7.

Yellowstone is under a Red Flag Warning until 9:00 p.m. Monday due to critical fire weather conditions. The fire danger in the park remains Very High.

Because of forecast continued hot and dry conditions, Yellowstone will reinstitute the following fire restrictions, effective noon Wednesday:

- Campfires are allowed only in established fire grates or fire rings in picnic areas or campgrounds. The use of portable charcoal grills is prohibited.
- Any fire which can produce an ash is prohibited in the backcountry.
- You can use portable stoves and lanterns which use propane, white gas, kerosene, or jellied petroleum for fuel anywhere in the park.
- Smoking is prohibited along all trails and anywhere in the backcountry.
- Smoking is allowed in vehicles and along roads, near buildings, and in developed campgrounds or picnic areas if you are standing in an area at least three feet in diameter where nothing on the ground will burn.

The other active fires are the Shoshone, Camera, Range, and Dewdrop 2. The largest of these is just one acre in size.

Other than the listed temporary closures of some backcountry campsites and hiking trails, all park entrances, roads and services are open. None of these fires pose a threat to park visitors.

When actively burning, smoke from the Dewdrop Fire may be visible from park roadways or from the Mount Washburn Fire Lookout Web Cam http://www.nps.gov/yell/photosmultimedia/webcams.htm.

There have been 11 fires reported in Yellowstone this year. Seven were started by lightning, and four were human caused. The largest to-date has been July's 29-acre Blacktail Fire.

Updated information is available 24-hours a day by calling 307-344-2580, or on the web at http://www.inciweb.org/unit/5382/.
 
                                   - www.nps.gov/yell  -

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