With Extreme Heat Forecasted, Whiskeytown Announces Temporary Ban on Campfires & Briquette BBQing

News Release Date:
July 17, 2024

Contact:Scott Einberger, 530-356-3958

Whiskeytown, CA - To reduce the threat of unwanted fire during these extremely hot days of summer, a temporary ban on campfires and barbequing with briquettes is now in effect.

Gas grills and gas stoves are still allowed.

The temporary ban on campfires and briquettes is particularly timely, as the National Weather Service forecasts daily high temperatures between 110 and 115 on Whiskeytown Lake today through Saturday.

Additionally, wind gusts up to 21 miles per hour are likely today and Independence Day.

Saturday's forecasted high temperature on the lake is between 112 and 117 degrees; the park's record high temperature is 116.

The Carr Fire of 2018 itself started during a record-tying heat wave in which afternoon temperatures reached 111 degrees. With 97 percent of the national recreation area burned and over 100 structures destroyed, the megafire was the most destructive in National Park System history.

Background on Unwanted Fire at Whiskeytown
While the national recreation area conducts "wanted fire" every winter in the form of prescribe burns to both enhance the land and further protect park infrastructure, unwanted fire or accidental fire has occurred every summer in the park since the 2018 megafire.

With substantial plant regrowth the past six years, the threat of a destructive grass or shrub fire remains high every summer and fall.

The leading cause of unwanted, accidental fire at Whiskeytown since the Carr Fire has been vehicle crashes on Highway 299

One of these car crashes that sparked a fire threatened the Visitor Center, while another threatened Park Headquarters.

Unattended campfires and unattended picnic barbeques have also caused fires in the park, including most recently at Oak Bottom.

For more information on the park's complex fire management program: Fire at Whiskeytown - Whiskeytown National Recreation Area (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)

For more information on climate change at Whiskeytown: Climate Change - Whiskeytown National Recreation Area (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)

For questions about this news release, contact Scott Einberger, Supervisory Interpretive Park Ranger & Public Affairs Specialist. Text or call 530-356-3958, or email [email protected].

Learn more about Whiskeytown National Recreation Area by visiting www.nps.gov/whis.
About Whiskeytown National Recreation Area. Whiskeytown is one of almost 430 parks within the National Park System. Whiskeytown National Recreation Area was established in 1965 to protect Whiskeytown Lake and surrounding habitat and to provide outdoor recreation opportunities for the people of the United States. The park protects an immensity of over 1100 different native plant species and preserves historic sites associated with the Wintu People and California Gold Rush. Whiskeytown is visited by around one million people each year. Visitors primarily enjoy swimming, boating, fishing, hiking, and camping. For more information, visit the park website or connect with us on Facebook or Instagram.

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