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FOREST SERVICE BANS OPEN FIRES IN ALABAMA'S NATIONAL FORESTS
MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- With wildfires burning in the Cheaha Wilderness area of the Talladega National Forest, USDA Forest Service officials have issued an order prohibiting open fires in Alabama's four national forests from now until Sept. 30. "We are fast approaching the last official holiday for the summer, and we want it to be a safe and enjoyable," said Miera B. Crawford, supervisor for the National Forests in Alabama. The order, which covers forest lands in Bibb, Calhoun, Cherokee, Chilton, Clay, Cleburne, Covington, Dallas, Escambia, Franklin, Hale, Lawrence, Macon, Perry, Talladega, Tuscaloosa and Winston counties, makes it illegal to build, maintain, attend, or use a fire or campfire (wood or charcoal) or stove fire in the Bankhead, Oakmulgee, Talladega or Tuskegee National Forests. The only exceptions to this prohibition are fires at developed recreation areas within designated fire rings on the Bankhead, Conecuh, Oakmulgee, Shoal Creek and Talladega Ranger Districts. Open fires are prohibited (no exception) in the entire Tuskegee National Forest. Officials will allow the use of gas or liquid fuel type stoves or backpacking stoves. Additionally, any and all fireworks or any kind of pyrotechnic devices are prohibited in all four national forests. The forest service has also closed until Sept. 30 the following Cheaha Wilderness trails due to wildfires: Chinabee Silent Trail, Cave Creek Trail, Nubin Creek Trail, Odum Trail and the Pinhoti National Recreation Trail. For more information, contact Mary E. Gaines at (334) 241-8173.
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