Cleveland, San Bernardino National Forest Closures Extended

SEPT. 15, 2021 UPDATE: The U.S. Forest Service announced that the closures will be extended until at least Sept. 22, 2021, due to ongoing wildfire threats.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE POSTED AUG. 31, 2021:

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA — The San Bernardino and Cleveland national forests will be closed beginning at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 31, under an order issued by the U.S. Forest Service closing all but one of California's national forests due to the state's numerous wildfires.

The order closing all the forests in the Pacific Southwest Region extends through Sept. 17, and is intended to help ensure the safety of the public and firefighters, according to Regional Forester Jennifer Eberlien.

"We do not take this decision lightly but this is the best choice for public safety," Eberlien said. "It is especially hard with the approaching Labor Day weekend, when so many people enjoy our national forests."'

By enacting the closures, the forest service seeks to minimize the likelihood of visitors becoming trapped in a national forest during a fire, decrease the potential for new fires to start and enhance firefighter and public safety by limiting exposure to COVID-19 that might occur during public evacuations.

"More than 6,800 wildfires have burned 1.7 million acres across all jurisdictions in California, and the National Wildfire Preparedness Level has been at PL5 since July 14, 2021, only the third time in the past 20 years that the nation has reached PL5 by mid-July," the forest service said in a statement.

The only national forest in California not covered by the order is the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest which is not in the Pacific Southwest region.

The 460,000-acre Cleveland National Forest spans Orange, Riverside, and San Diego counties. The 672,701-acre San Bernardino National Forest is located in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

At least two fires were burning in the forests as of Tuesday morning. The 1,427-acre Chaparral Fire near Murrieta, and the 819-acre South Fire in San Bernardino County. Between the two blazes, 20 structures have been lost.

—City News Service