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ZION NATIONAL PARK, Utah (AP) -- The National Park Service will begin fire restrictions this weekend, banning campfires and smoking except in designated areas.
Campers visiting the park for Memorial Day weekend can cook with gas stoves or charcoal, but campfires will be allowed only at Lava Point Campground, the Park Service said Wednesday. Smoking is allowed only within vehicles or designated smoking areas.
The restrictions begin Friday and remain in place indefinitely.
The Bureau of Land Management announced that similar fire restrictions will go into place Friday for Washington County and the Arizona Strip. The restrictions include any open fire except within designated areas, smoking unless in an enclosed area like a vehicle or using any kind of fireworks, tracer ammunition or incendiary devices.
The BLM also issued a Memorial Day reminder for people to be careful with fire.
"The heavy spring precipitation we received over the spring can act like a double-edged sword," said Darron Williams of the BLM's Salt Lake Field Office. "On the one hand they can increase the fuel moisture content of heavier fuels such as juniper trees, but the moisture will also add more vegetation, like grasses, that are more susceptible to ignition."
On the Net:
www.utahfireinfo.com
www.nps.gov/zion
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
