The Angeles National Forest will end its forest closure order at 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday evening, a week after the California regional closure expires, authorities said.
The forest will also reduce its fire hazard from critical to extreme, which continues to prohibit the use of naked flames or certain spark-emitting devices, according to the US Forest Service.
Closures of other Southern California national forests – Los Padres, San Bernardino and Cleveland – will also expire Wednesday night with changed or updated usage restrictions for fire, the USFS reported. The closure order was originally issued on August 31st in response to nationwide forest fires.
However, while most of the Angeles National Forest is reopening, a significant portion of the forest will remain closed due to the 2020 Bobcat fire, the USFS reported.
This closure order has been in place since the fire broke out in September 2020 and is in place until April 2022, so that the affected area can recover after the more than 100,000 hectare fire.
The Bobcat closure order includes popular locations such as the Chantry Flat Picnic Area and Buckhorn Campground.
“Several factors led to this decision, which allowed the closure order to expire,” said Robert T. Heiar, assistant forest ranger, Angeles National Forest.
“While we remain at extreme fire risk, the national and regional improvements will help provide Southern California with the fire-fighting resources it needs,” said Heiar.
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