Public Safety

Cleveland National Forest To Elevate Fire Restriction Level

By Ed Joyce / Reporter

Published September 2, 2009 at 11:55 AM PDT

This story was published more than 15 years ago.

The Cleveland National Forest is elevating its fire use restriction level from "very high" to "extreme" Thursday morning. The ongoing drought and fires in other parts of California prompted the move.

Cleveland National Forest officials are trying to prevent potential fires by restricting certain activities as the Labor Day weekend nears. There are no Santa Ana wind conditions but dry weather and the tinder-dry forest increase the risk of wildfire.

Anabele Cornejo with the Cleveland National Forest says campfires are prohibited in campgrounds that are not staffed by the forest service.

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We're just trying to be cautious, and public safety is number one," Cornejo said. "And given what's going on in Los Angeles, in the state actually, we're just trying to be prudent here."

She said smoking is only allowed inside cars.

Cornejo also said an area of the forest in southeast San Diego County that was closed because of wildfires in 2006 and October 2007 has reopened for use.

She says the fire danger is not as high in that area compared to areas of the forest that haven't burned in recent years.

Public Safety

Ed Joyce

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Ed Joyce was the environment reporter and afternoon news anchor for KPBS-FM. Before joining KPBS, he worked as an editor/columnist with Copley News Service in San Diego. Ed has an extensive background in newspaper, radio, web and TV journalism. After graduating with a B.A. in Communications from the University of Washington in Seattle, Ed began a career in broadcast journalism. His work has included stints in public broadcasting, commercial broadcasting and education -- working as an affiliate professor of communication and reporter at the University of Idaho and Washington State University in Pullman, Wash. During the past 20 years he has worked in radio, TV and print as a news reporter, anchor, writer, editor and producer. Along the way he has won numerous awards for general news reporting, newswriting, feature and issue reporting and breaking news reporting from The Associated Press, The Society of Professional Journalists, San Diego Press Club and other organizations. During the mid-1990s, while working for Oregon Public Broadcasting, he was a frequent contributor to National Public Radio, including a feature report on the memorial service for 14 U.S. Forest Service "hotshots" who died fighting a wildfire in Colorado (the crew was based in a central Oregon town). He’s also filed reports with Marketplace, KQED’s California Report and Climate Watch and with national and regional networks throughout the United States. At KPBS, Ed continues his contributions to National Public Radio and other national and regional news organizations. He has won awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and San Diego Press Club for his environmental reporting at KPBS-FM-TV and for producing and anchoring radio newscasts. In 2007 he was selected a National Press Foundation fellow for Understanding Violent Weather II program. The seminars were held at the National Weather Center in Norman, Okla. In 2008 he spoke at a UC San Diego conference on U.S. National Security as part of the school’s Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation. Ed led a discussion with the 18 foreign government officials and academics about the political debate over climate change. In 2010, Ed was elected to a three-year term on the board of the San Diego Press Club.

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