The declaration covers 1.8 million acres of lands in southwestern Oregon; off-pavement areas of Bear Creek Greenway will be off-limits

Fire season returns to Jackson and Josephine counties on June 1, according to an Oregon Department of Forestry news release.

About 1.8 million acres of state, private, county, city and U.S. Bureau of Land Management lands will be affected by the declaration.

The seasonal kickoff comes with “low” fire danger, but that still makes for multiple restrictions, including:

• No debris burning, including piles and debris burned in burn barrels.
• No fireworks on or within one-eighth of a mile of ODF-protected land.
• Exploding targets and tracer ammunition, or any bullet with a pyrotechnic charge in its base, are prohibited.
• Campfires are allowed in designated campgrounds and on private land with the landowner’s permission. Portable stoves using liquefied or bottled fuels may be used in areas clear of vegetation at any time.
• Smoking while traveling will be allowed only in enclosed vehicles on improved roads in boats on the water and other specifically designated locations.
• Any electric fence controllers must be approved by a nationally recognized testing laboratory, such as Underwriters Laboratories Inc., or be certified by the Department of Consumer and Business Services and be installed and used in compliance with the fence controller’s instructions for fire-safe operation.

“Consistent snow and rain across Southern Oregon kept preseason fires to a minimum until late April, when temperatures began to slowly heat up,” the news release reads. “Despite the wet spring, recent sunny and windy conditions have supported a gradual drying of vegetation.”

Since the gradual warmup began, ODF Southwest crews have responded to 12 fires, which have burned a total of 22 acres. This includes the 6-acre Flat Creek Fire from late April, which ignited northwest of Lost Creek Lake.

“This incident serves as a reminder that spring fires can and do happen,” an ODF Southwest Facebook post on the incident reads. “Even though fire season has not yet arrived, warm or windy conditions can carry fire and cause it to spread.”

For more information, visit the ODF Southwest Facebook page or the ODF website.

Meanwhile, starting in 2021, Jackson County began closing all off-pavement areas of the Bear Creek Greenway to lower the wildfire risk in the urban area congruent with ODF’s declared fire season.

The off-pavement closure will remain in effect from June 1 at 12:01 a.m. auntil the fire agency declares an end to the 2025 fire season later this year.

Email Ashland.news web editor Ryan Pfeil at ryanp@ashland.news. This story first appeared at Ashland.news.