FOREST GROVE, Ore. — With fire danger rising across northwest Oregon, use of motorized vehicles and all campfires will be prohibited on the eastern portion of the Tillamook State Forest and state forest lands in the Sunday Creek area of Yamhill County and in Columbia County around Camp Wilkerson, with limited exceptions, effective at 1 a.m. Wednesday, August 11. This impacts the following areas of the Tillamook State Forest:
- On Highway 26 from milepost 29 (Sunset Rest Area) east
- Highway 6 from milepost 25 (Kings Mountain Trailhead) east
A waiver is being issued to allow specific campgrounds and day use areas to remain open. The following sites are remaining open because they are close to paved road and more accessible to firefighters in the event of a fire start. Campfires are still prohibited in these areas.
- Gales Creek Campground & Trailhead
- Gales Creek Overlook
- Rogers Camp Trailhead
- Deyoe Creek Trailhead
- Summit Trailhead
- Elk Creek Campground & Trailhead
- Kings Mountain Trailhead
- Reehers Camp Campground & Trailhead
- Four County Point Trailhead
- Steam Donkey Trailhead
The forest remains open to foot traffic, and the non-motorized trail networks accessed from these sites will also remain open.
Activities restricted in these areas include:
- Driving any motorized vehicle on forest roads, including passenger and off-highway vehicles
- Campfires, including in designated fire rings at developed campgrounds
- Smoking
Note that all year long, fireworks, sky lanterns, tracer rounds and exploding targets are prohibited on state-managed forestland.
“Given the extreme fire danger and extensive drought throughout the Northwest, ODF is taking this step to reduce the number of human-caused fires and allow firefighting resources to focus efforts on the current large fires as well as new fires likely to emerge,” Northwest Area Director Andy White said. “We thank Oregonians for your understanding.”
Additional restrictions are necessary due to the current extreme fire conditions that are endangering life, forest resources, and property as well as limited fire and emergency response resources. Almost all of the Pacific Northwest is in drought conditions, with little rain or cooler weather expected for some time.