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SYRACUSE — State firefighters are implementing more stringent fire restrictions at Antelope Island State Park as "extremely dry vegetation conditions" begin to grip the region.
State forester Jamie Barnes and state fire management officer Brett Ostler issued an order Tuesday that immediately applies Stage 2 fire restrictions to the park, located within the Great Salt Lake in Davis County.
Under the order, "building, maintaining, attending or using any fire, campfire or stove fire" is now banned at the park under further notice. Charcoal grills, barbecues, coal/wood burning stoves and tent stoves are included in the ban, which applies to developed camping and picnic grounds, as well as other areas on the island.
But the order doesn't outright ban all grills or certain types of lanterns. Devices that use pellets or pressurized liquid or gas are permitted as long as they have shut-off valves and are used at least 3 feet from any vegetation, including grasses or pine needles.
There are a few other regulations under a Stage 2 order:
- Smoking is only permitted within an enclosed vehicle, trailer, building or developed recreation site. It's also permitted in areas that are paved or "free from dry vegetation."
- All motorcycles, chainsaws, all-terrain vehicles or any other small internal combustion engine "without an approved and working" spark arrestor are banned.
- No fireworks, tracer ammunition, exploding targets or "other pyrotechnic devices."
- No cutting, welding or grinding metal in areas of dry vegetation.
The state can issue a permit to an individual that exempts them from certain restrictions. Violating the restrictions can result in a fine of up to $1,000 and a potential jail sentence.
Hot and dry conditions, so far, this summer are quickly drying the vegetation in the region. The U.S. Drought Monitor now lists 83.5% of Davis County as having "abnormally dry" conditions, including Antelope Island.
There haven't been any wildland fire starts on the island this year, but there have been several starts near the Great Salt Lake shore and about a half-dozen starts at nearby Stansbury Island, according to state and federal fire data.
Some fire restrictions had already been implemented at Antelope Island before Tuesday. The state issued Stage 1 fire restrictions for all state land and unincorporated private land in Davis County that went into effect on July 1. It also applied to similar lands in Box Elder, Cache, Morgan, Rich, Salt Lake, Tooele, Utah and Weber counties.
Those restrictions only ban open fires except within established public facilities, improved campgrounds and picnic areas; however, most of the other restrictions are similar to Stage 2 restrictions.
Tuesday's order comes as the fire season has picked up over the past month. State and federal firefighters say there have been 537 different fire starts across Utah this year that have burned over 39,000 acres as of Tuesday morning.
