INF Press Release – Date: October 2, 2020
The Inyo National Forest announces a partial re-opening of the forest on October 3.
Open: Wildernesses in the Inyo Mountains and the White Mountains, front country dispersed areas throughout the forest, developed sites, resorts, and recreation resident cabins.
Developed recreation campgrounds will re-open. However, many campgrounds will remain closed due to end of season operations or because they are within closed areas.
Open campgrounds:
Aspen, Lower Lee Vining, Hartley Springs, Glass Creek, Big Springs, Oh Ridge, Twin Lakes, Silver Lake, New Shady Rest, Convict, French Camp, Four Jeffery, Sabrina, Bitterbrush, Upper Sage, Lone Pine, and Whitney Portal.
Closures:
- Inyo National Forest within Madera County remains closed. The most common destinations are Reds Meadow Valley and the Devils Postpile National Monument. This area remains closed due to the Creek Fire to the west.
- Forest Closure 05-04-51-20-17 remains in effect and closes areas, including Monache Meadows, due to the SQF Complex (Castle Fire).
- Forest order 05-04-54-20-15 remains in effect and includes Navy Beach and the South Tufa Area.
- The Inyo portions of the South Sierra, Golden Trout, John Muir, Ansel Adams, Owens River Headwaters, and Hoover Wilderness Areas remain closed through December 1, 2020.This closure may be rescinded or extended as needed. Many of the Inyo’s trail networks lead into active fire areas that are closed and that are managing complex and difficult fires.
Fire restrictions are in effect.
Propane and gas stove use are now permitted in developed recreation sites in National Forests in California. Developed recreation sites are defined as areas that have been improved or developed for recreation such as campgrounds and day use sites.
Woodcutting – With a valid woodcutting permit, firewood may be cut as long as it is in a permitted collection area that is open.
Visitors to the Eastern Sierra should expect smoky conditions from various fires throughout the region.
This partial closure is the worst. They are allowing the highest risk activities, camping by thousands of flat landers who aren’t all very careful, while limiting the lower risk activities of hiking and backpacking. I thought they were considering no camping for the rest of the year, but opening for… Read more »
The Inyo NF should only close specific Wilderness trails that are close to active fire areas. This is what Yosemite NP is doing.
Bypass the Inyo National Forest employees. Call Congressman Paul Cook’s office directly and voice your opinion on this.
The headline is not truthful. The Inyo National Forrest does not have the personnel to accomplish the “closure”. Traffic on the access in front of our house is as heavy as it has been in years past. It did get much worse during the “closure” of the parks and BLM… Read more »
Yosemite NP is open, Sequoia/Kings Canyon NPs are open and all 11 National Forests in northern CA are open. Yet all of the Inyo NF wilderness in the Sierras is closed, including huge swaths of terrain that is north of or adjacent to the fully-open Sequoia/Kings Canyon NPs. This closure… Read more »
this is the power of un ELECTED officials
Are the lakes open to fish? You have the campground open, I understand not having the hiking trails, but how about the lakes?
The overlords have decreed that “many of Inyo’s trail networks lead into active fire areas” so ALL TRAILS must remain closed to the public. They recognize no obligation to identify and open trail systems that don’t lead into the affected areas. Why is Big Pine Canyon closed? Sabrina Basin? This… Read more »
Write to the regional supervisor Randy Moore ([email protected]), write to acting inyo supervisor john pancho smith ([email protected]), write to your senator…Randy Moore regional supervisor is covering his a$$ for not doing anything all summer. The fires were burning already and the record heat wave for labor day was documented and… Read more »
while I don’t agree with the partial closure, your statement is full of inaccuracies. For one, the creek fire is not in Inyo NF…and the cause has yet to be determined. Locally, USFS has been doing massive fuel reduction projects for 30 year or more. As much as funding allows.… Read more »
I agree with what you have to say, but ultimately the root cause of our dire conditions and dead trees are from fire suppression and drought. Bark beetle death is the culmination of these factors, and only the tip of the iceberg. In a ‘normal’ forest, bark beetles are a… Read more »
I get what is still closed, but what they haven’t specified is whether the Inyo forest is open on the Sierra side of the valley. For example Baxter pass in independence, or any inyo national forest boundaries out of lone pine on west side
Many of the trails in the John Muir Wilderness don’t go anywhere near fires. This is an unreasonable and injudicious closure. Waiting until December means no opening at all.