BLM Announces Emergency Fire Prevention Closure for Whitewater Canyon in Riverside County

Effective immediately, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Palm Springs-South Coast Field Office is temporarily closing public lands in and near Whitewater Canyon in Riverside County due to hazardous fire conditions. 

 “A wildfire under these conditions could pose a serious threat to the public and resources as well as adjacent private lands and communities,” stated BLM Palm Springs-South Coast Field Manager John Kalish.  “Severe burning conditions brought on by hot, dry weather; hazardous fuels and the restricted nature of this canyon make this closure necessary.”
 
The order will remain in effect until fire conditions warrant a lifting of the closure.

Approximately 4,234 acres of public lands are affected by the closure order. A map and description is available on-line at: http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/palmsprings.html  and is posted at the entrance to Whitewater Canyon.  Persons using the Whitewater Canyon Road as a means of accessing the Whitewater Preserve are not affected by this closure.  Other uses of the canyon are exempted from the closure as specified in the order.

For further information, contact the BLM, Palm Springs-South Coast Field Office at (760) 833-7100.

California Desert District Office   22835 Calle San Juan de Los Lagos      Moreno Valley, CA 92553