Deer Hunters: Check For Wildfire Closures

Firefighters work to help contain the Yosemite Rim Fire earlier this year. (USFWS)
Firefighters work to help contain the Yosemite Rim Fire earlier this year. (USFWS)

Update: Here’s a link that all fire victims should check out:

https://www.thesimpledollar.com/how-to-handle-your-finances-during-a-disaster/

With the coming weeks some of California’s prime deer hunting opportunities, the state’s swatch of wildfires that has affected areas throughout the state.  There are fires in Siskiyou, El Dorado, – those two blazes have been among the most devastating – Madera, Mono, Alpine and Orange Counties.

Deer hunters should be advised about potential areas that will be closed due to the wildfires. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife released this statement today:

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) advises deer hunters to check for fire closures before heading into the field for upcoming deer hunts. Drought and extremely dangerous fire conditions have combined in many areas of the state to ignite several large wildfires in many popular deer hunting areas.

Some areas of public land and roads have been closed to protect public safety. Deer hunting season opens in some of these areas over the next few weeks.

The U.S. Forest Service’s most updated closure information can be found at inciweb.nwcg.gov/closures/.

CAL FIRE’s most updated closure information can be found atcdfdata.fire.ca.gov/incidents/incidents_current.

King Fire closure information for deer zones D3-5 can be found at

www.fs.usda.gov/detail/eldorado/news-events/?cid=STELPRD3817315.

Hunters are urged to check these links frequently in order to obtain the most up-to-date information. Although some hunting areas may be closed, there is still plenty of public land where deer hunters can find hunting opportunities.

Detailed information and maps of California deer zones can be found at www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/hunting/deer/zonemapsinfo.html .

Deer season opening and closing dates by zone can be found atdfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=84116.

Given the exceptionally dry conditions this year, it is even more important that hunters do their part to prevent wildfires. One less spark means one less wildfire. Learn more atwww.preventwildfireca.org/OneLessSpark/.