All lands managed by the White River National Forest and Bureau of Land Management Upper Colorado River District will be in stage 2 fire restrictions beginning Friday, August 8, 2025.

Under stage 2 fire restrictions, no campfires or charcoal are allowed anywhere on the White River National Forest and BLM lands, including in developed campgrounds and picnic areas.

Recent hot, dry and windy weather has increased fire danger, with little change expected in the forecast.

“We are currently seeing fire danger conditions similar to August 2020, when western Colorado and the White River National Forest saw record-breaking fires,” said White River National Forest Supervisor Brian Glaspell.

“We are urging everyone to be extremely vigilant,” said BLM Upper Colorado River District Manager Greg Larson. “Dragging trailer chains, parking in dry grass, even setting hot equipment down in dry vegetation can start fires right now.”

County, state and federal officials coordinate and consider many factors when determining the need to implement fire restrictions; these include current and anticipated fire danger, availability of resources to fight the fire, and concerns of neighboring jurisdictions.

Some areas of the BLM Upper Colorado River District were in stage 2 restrictions previously. The order now applies to all BLM-administered lands within the Grand Junction and Colorado River Valley Field Offices.

The restriction orders detailing the specific prohibitions are available at https://www.fs.usda.gov/r02/whiteriver/alerts and Upper Colorado River District Fire Restrictions.

Prohibitions under stage 2 restrictions on BLM and National Forest System lands include:

• Igniting, building, maintaining, attending, or using a fire, campfire, charcoal barbecue, or grill, except if using a device solely fueled by liquid or gas that can be turned on and off in an area barren or cleared of all flammable materials within three feet of the device. 36 CFR § 261.52(a)
• Smoking, except in an enclosed vehicle or building. 36 CFR § 261.52(d)
• Welding or operating an acetylene or other torch with open flame. 36 CFR § 261.52(h)
• Using an explosive. 36 C.F.R. § 261.52(b)
• Possessing or using a motor vehicle off NFS roads, except when parking in an area devoid of vegetation within 10 feet of the motor vehicle. 36 CFR § 261.56