U.S. Forest Service

As of this morning at 8:50 AM all evacuation warnings have been lifted for the mountain communities of Mountain Home Village, Forest Falls, Angelus Oaks, Seven Oaks and Barton flats. The #ElDoradoFire closure order remains in place.

Happy almost Veterans Day! Tomorrow, November 11 is your last chance in 2020 to visit the forest with no Adventure Pass required: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detai//passes-permits/recreation/... Please be sure to check if the place you want to visit is open and if there are any restrictions before you go: https://www.fs.usda.gov/sbnf

It's time to break out your tire chains and know how to use them We're expecting to see rain and snow in our mountains starting early Saturday morning through Sunday. There could be road closures due to rock slides especially along State Route 38 from Bryant to Lake Williams due to the El Dorado Fire. ... CalTrans is also recommending that Big Bear-bound motorists use SR 18 and SR 330 and avoid SR 38 in the event there are delays or closures. Please take care to drive slowly for crews working on roads!

When will the San Gorgonio Wilderness reopen? When will the fire restrictions get reduced? When will dispersed camping or Yellow Post Site camping be allowed again? We know you want to get back into certain areas of the forest during this wonderful time of year. However, the answer to all of these questions has to do with the current fire weather situation and your safety, along with our crews still working in that area.... The El Dorado Fire still continues to burn in remote areas of the San Gorgonio Wilderness, putting up smoke from interior pockets of fuel or smoldering trees, and causing the evacuation warnings for several communities to remain in place. It's not safe to have hikers venture into the wilderness while we still have an active fire burning, and forecasted wind events for the next couple of months that still threaten sending embers over into other area of the wilderness where hikers can potentially get trapped. We also continue to repair bulldozer lines from this fire with heavy equipment on Forest Road 1N12 (Thomas Hunting Grounds Road) and along Highway 38, which means we must close some roads for public, firefighter and heavy equipment operator safety. We expect this work to continue for the next couple of weeks, however when there are red flag conditions, even our own repair work has to pause due to potential sparks caused from their equipment. According to our predictive services organization, there is still significant large fire potential that will remain above normal across Southern California from the mountains westward through December. We also have an incoming weak Santa Ana wind event today (Wednesday) through Thursday, not to mention we are still in "extreme" fire danger level across the entire Forest.. Click here if you want to geek out on the Southern California outlook for November to February: https://gacc.nifc.gov//pre/outlooks/myfiles/assessment.pdf. This ultimately means that we must keep the current fire restrictions and dispersed camping prohibition in place, to reduce the probability of wildfires happening and to ensure public safety using our current staffing capacity. We thank you for your understanding during this higher-than-average fire year. To check on the status of the reopening of the San Gorgonio Wilderness or other closures such as roads or camping, please visit our Alerts & Notices page at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/sbnf/alerts-notices. And check here for the latest fire restrictions: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/sbnf/learning/safety-ethics/ You can also download the National Forest Explorer app to your phone for your convenience: https://www.oncell.com/national-forests/

Happy Halloween Fall is upon us and the air is crisp. We hope you enjoy the festive colors of the forest this weekend by taking a leisurely drive somewhere new, or discovering a different hike to do! You can check our recreation page for statuses of trails and areas to explore: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recmain/sbnf/recreation... Photos: Glass Road in Seven Oaks, and black oaks in Fawnskin; both in the Mountaintop Ranger District.

Road repair update in the Miller Canyon/Pilot Rock area of the forest: A portion of 2N34 (Two Tunnel Road) will be closed temporarily starting October 30 - November 20. A detour is available on 2N36 (Pilot Rock Ridge Rd). For more details, read the Press Release here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/sbnf/news-events/

We're working on a proposal to authorize the County of San Bernardino in constructing and operating a new communications facility near the community of Green Valley Lake, located northwest of Holcomb Creek Drive and Yukon Drive, adjacent to an existing water tank. It would address the need for better radio coverage and improved emergency response times and therefore a benefit to visitors, residents, Forest Service and other civil employees. You can submit your public comment... by November 22 to help identify key issues, mitigation measures and analyze effects of this proposed action. Project documents, and info for how to submit a comment are available at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=58077

Fourteen years ago today, the 40,000-acre arson-caused Esperanza Fire resulted in the deaths of five Forest Service firefighters assigned to Engine 57 in the San Jacinto Mountains. The communities, U.S. Forest Service and the families have vowed, "We will always remember."