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Restrictions in effect for Tusayan forest
Local Ten-X campground remains open

<br>Patrick Whitehurst/WGCN<br>
The Ten X Campground near the South Rim remains open, though fire restrictions are now in effect on the Tusayan Ranger District.

<br>Patrick Whitehurst/WGCN<br> The Ten X Campground near the South Rim remains open, though fire restrictions are now in effect on the Tusayan Ranger District.

TUSAYAN, Ariz. - Due to extremely dry conditions within the Kaibab National Forest, officials with the Forest Service have implemented fire restrictions in their three districts, which includes the Tusayan Ranger District near the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

According to Fire Information Officer Punky Moore, smoking and campfires are part of the restrictions, which began June 23.

"The restrictions on the Tusayan District are the same as on the Williams and the North Kaibab," Moore said. "That means that you can have campfires, charcoal, coal or wood stoves only in developed campgrounds. You can only smoke in a vehicle, building or in a campground also."

The Ten-X Campground, located near Tusayan, remains open to the public, Moore said, adding that the campground is currently in stage one fire restrictions.

When it comes to restrictions on the Kaibab National Forest, Moore said officials with the Forest Service monitor conditions closely when making their decisions.

"Typically we would start to see the onset of monsoons around the first week of July, but we'll just have to assess the conditions on a weekly basis. That's our normal process. We have a conference call every Monday and we talk amongst the Forest to see what kinds of trends are going on and then decide whether we need to elevate the restrictions or whether we start getting into a wetter pattern where we can actually lift them. In the weeks to come for us here, it will probably be a typical weather pattern for us now, where we have the warm temperatures and the low relative humidity. When we start seeing those wetting rains, when things are actually wet, we can start looking at lifting the restrictions, when we see that we are kind of under a new trend."

Restrictions, she said, are in place due to elevated fire danger and conditions where large fires can start and spread rapidly.

"We're starting to see our forest fuel moistures go down, so that means things are just drier. They are in place to help prevent human-caused fires, of which the total number of fires that we get on the forest, of that number, about 25 percent of them is human-caused," Moore said.

A number of factors are involved in the decision process behind implementing fire restrictions. While monsoons can bring much needed moisture to the forest, the number of lightning strikes can increase the likelihood of fires in the forest as well.

"It is public lands. It is everybody's lands and we don't want to put restrictions in unless we have to. Some people think that, just because you have a red flag warning day, that you should be in restrictions, and that's not how it's determined," Moore said.

While Flagstaff's Schulz Fire was reported as being a possible human-caused fire, the recent Eagle Rock Fire is thought to have been lightning caused.

"We don't have any indication that that was human-caused. Normally you would find the campfire that actually started the fire," Moore said.

Fires can begin at any time of year where there are extended periods with very little precipitation.

"We do have people patrolling the forest and stopping and talking to visitors and handing out information and we have signs. There are fines. If you are found in violation, it's up to a $5,000 fine or six months in jail or both," Moore said.

There are a number of dispersed campsites in the Tusayan Ranger District of the Kaibab National Forest. Ten-X is the only fixed campground in the area.

"We see a lot more dispersed camping there," Moore said. "I definitely recommend that people call the nearest ranger station before they go out to the forest. We try to keep the fire restrictions as consistent as we can across the forest, but that isn't always the case. So, another forest may go into an elevated fire restriction whereas we may stay in Stage One."

The Tusayan Ranger District can be reached at (928) 638-2443 for more information on the forest restrictions in that area.


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