Yosemite Announces New Fire Restrictions in Light of Drought

So far, summer has been dry and it has been hot. In a lot of areas, this means significant adjustments and restrictions in terms of how often and how much water we use. In places like Yosemite, it means restrictions on how we deal with campfires.

Due to the continuing dry and hot weather, Yosemite has issued a slew of new restrictions. (To get a sense of just how serious a problem this is right now, last week alone, Yosemite had six fires in the park due to lightning strikes.)

The restrictions are mostly what you would expect: No fires (camping or cooking) at any sites below 6,000 feet in elevation. No smoking below that same elevation, unless you're in an enclosed vehicle, a building where smoking is allowed, or in a campground or picnic area where wood and charcoal fires are allowed. In fact, to see the full list of places where you're allowed to build fires, let's go ahead and link to the official page again.

But if you're doing any camping around the drought-ravaged regions of the country this summer, make sure to check out the park's fire restrictions before heading out. And then, when you're getting ready to pack it in for the night, may sure those embers are fully dead.