News Release

Redwood National Park Fire Restrictions

Date: August 20, 2021
Contact: David Roemer, 707-465-7700

CRESCENT CITY, Calif. – Due to extreme fire danger and to protect public safety, Redwood National Park is implementing Stage II fire restrictions impacting the following activities until further notice: 

• All fires along Redwood Creek gravel bars are prohibited except for the use of small portable camp stoves. 

• All fires on the beaches of Redwood National Park, including beach wave slopes, are prohibited. 

This decision is consistent with park guidance contained in the Redwood National Park Fire Management Plan and is issued under the authorities at 36 CFR §1.5.  

Users of the backcountry may continue to have campfires at designated primitive campsites at Little Bald Hills, DeMartin, Flint Ridge, Gold Bluffs Beach, Elam Creek, and 44 Camp. Fires are still permissible in park-provided fire rings and grills at designated sites in day use picnic areas and the developed campgrounds at Jedediah Smith, Mill Creek, Elk Prairie, and Gold Bluffs Beach. 

Implementing Stage II fire restrictions protects not only public safety and the park’s natural and cultural resources, but also firefighter safety due to extreme fire conditions and strained firefighting resources throughout the United States. Climate change is driving the devastating intersection of extreme heat, drought, and wildland fire danger across the country, creating wildfires that move with a speed and intensity previously unseen. This has created conditions in which wildfires overwhelm response capabilities, resulting in billions of dollars in economic losses, damage to natural resources, devastation to communities, and the tragic loss of human life. As of Aug. 20, large fire activity continued in twelve states across the country where 99 large fires and complexes have burned 2.5 million acres. California, alone, has over 1,188,404 acres burned. More than 26,500 wildland firefighters and support personnel are currently battling the blazes. Local firefighting resources are severely strained. 

Preventing wildland fires is everyone’s responsibility. Whether enjoying your public lands or your own home, in these hot, dry, and windy conditions please consider fire safety in all that you do. 

To learn more about fire management, the role of fire in the Redwood National and State Parks (RNSP) ecosystems, and find links for current conditions, visit the fire management page on the RNSP website: Fire Management - Redwood National and State Parks (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)