The U.S. Forest Service is urging visitors to the national forests in the Blue Mountains to follow basic campfire safety tips, including building fires within rock rings.

Fire season isn’t over in Northeastern Oregon, but the current cool and occasionally damp weather has prompted state and federal agencies to ease fire restrictions.

The Wallowa-Whitman and Umatilla national forests have reduced Public Use Restrictions to Phase A.

Under Phase A, campfires are allowed with no restrictions on location.

The two national forests have also reduced the Industrial Fire Precaution Level to Level 1. That means firewood cutters who have a cutting permit can use chain saws at any time.

The energy release component, one of the computer models that fire agencies use to gauge the fire danger, is well below average for mid-September across Northeastern Oregon, according to the Blue Mountain Interagency Dispatch Center at the La Grande/Union County Airport.

After the hottest summer on record at the Baker City Airport, where the temperature reached or exceeded 90 degrees on a record 53 days, the daily high was below 80 on five of six days from Sept. 11-16.

There has also been widespread rain across the county and region over the past week.

Totals from Sept. 14 through 6 a.m. on Sept. 17 include:

• Baker City Airport: 0.21

• Elk Creek: 0.59

• Blue Canyon: 0.23

• Oregon Trail Interpretive Center: 0.18

• Mason Dam: 0.15

• Hereford: 0.21

• Yellowpine Campground: 0.37

• Baker Valley (west of Haines): 0.20

• Point Prominence: 0.24

• Morgan Mountain (northwest of Huntington): 0.33

The National Weather Service is forecasting showers to continue through Tuesday, with mainly dry weather Wednesday through Saturday. Temperatures will remain mild, though, with highs in the low to the mid 70s.

A chance of rain returns over the weekend.

Oregon Department of Forestry

Starting on Tuesday, Sept. 17, the Oregon Department of Forestry reduced the fire danger in the Northeast District from high to moderate.

Fire season remains in effect, however, for private, state, county, municipal and tribal lands in the agency’s Northeast District. Burn permits are required for burning debris and barrels.The Northeast District includes lands in the Union, Baker, Umatilla and Wallowa counties, and small portions of Grant, Morrow and Malheur counties.

Restrictions that will be in place for moderate fire danger:

• A permit is required for all open debris burning and use of burn barrels, depending on the conditions.

• Campfires for recreational and/or cooking purposes are allowed.

Possession of the following firefighting equipment is required: a shovel or other firefighting tool, a minimum of 1 gallon of water, or 2 ½ 2-pound or larger fire extinguisher, and a fire watch at least one hour after extinguishing.

Prohibited:

• Use of exploding targets.

• Use of tracer ammunition or any bullet with a pyrotechnic charge in its base.

• Use of sky lanterns throughout the year in Oregon.

Manulife forest properties

Starting Sept. 17, Manulife (formerly Hancock) reopened its lands in Northeastern Oregon for overnight camping. Campfires are still prohibited on Manulife properties, however.

Manulife lands in the region, including within the Shamrock, Whiskey Creek, Noregaard, Little Catherine Creek and Meacham travel management areas, reopened to day use only in late August after being closed in mid-July due to fire danger.

For other information on recreation on Manulife lands, call the company’s hotline at 541-962-2184.