We are now in the middle of wildfire season and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) wanted to talk to listeners about fire safety while enjoying the outdoors. BLM Representative, Marshall Thompson took time from his busy schedule to speak with Castle Country Radio.

“Well I think the first thing to bring up is that fireworks are prohibited on BLM administered lands so folks need to be aware of that aspect as they head out to recreate for the Fourth of July weekend,” said Thompson. Because fire season varies widely by region, each jurisdiction—whether federal, state, local or private—has the authority to impose seasonal fire restrictions within the area they manage.

“We also ask that before folks head out when they decide where they want to go and camp or recreate for the weekend that they take a look at potential fire restrictions that have been put in place for those areas and they can find that information on the www.utahfireinfo.gov website,” stated Thompson. This website is very informative as it covers the entire state and is used by several agencies to report fire restrictions, warnings or area closures.

Taking extra precautions when recreating outdoors is a smart idea. “When you do go out and camp over the Fourth of July weekend or any other weekend in the summer make sure you’re bringing appropriate equipment with you. Bring a shovel, bring some extra water or a bucket with extra water that you can have nearby your campfire, should that campfire escape its fire ring, you have equipment to help try and slow the spread or stop it altogether,” explained Thompson. Again, it’s very important to be familiar with the fire restrictions before you go on that trip.