ARCADIA — The Angeles, Los Padres, San Bernardino and Cleveland national forests reopened today — Thursday, Sept. 23, one week past the expiration of the California regional closure, authorities said.
The forests also lowered their fire danger level from Critical to Extreme, which continues to ban any use of any open-flame or certain spark-emitting equipment, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
“Several factors led to the decision allowing the closure order to expire,” said Robert T. Heiar, deputy forest supervisor for the Angeles National Forest.
“Although we remain in extreme fire danger conditions, the national and regional improvement will help to provide the needed firefighting resources to Southern California,” Heiar said.
The closure order was originally issued on Aug. 31 in response to statewide wildfires.
While the majority of the Angeles National Forest will reopen, a significant part of the forest will remain closed due to the 2020 Bobcat Fire, the USFS reported.
The closure order for the Angeles Forest has been in place since the fire’s start in September of 2020 and remains in effect until April of 2022 to allow for the affected area to recover after the 100,000-plus-acre fire.
The Bobcat closure order encompasses popular sites like Chantry Flat Picnic Area, and Buckhorn Campground.
Source: Orange County Register
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