Fire restrictions on the Mogollon Rim move through three tiers. Stage 1 limits campfires to developed recreation sites and tightens smoking and equipment rules. Stage 2 bans wood and charcoal fires outright and shuts down most off-road engine use. A full closure keeps you out of the forest entirely. Breaking any of these rules is a federal offense that can cost you up to $5,000 and six months in jail, and far more if a fire you started has to be put out.
How To Check What Stage Is in Effect Right Now
Stages change on short notice, and the only rules that matter are the ones in the current order. The Coconino National Forest and the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests both post active alerts and closure orders on their official websites.1USDA Forest Service. Alerts – Coconino National Forest Arizona’s interagency wildfire prevention site runs a color-coded map covering every active restriction on federal and state land in the state: yellow for Stage 1, orange for Stage 2, red for a closure. Zoom in on the Rim and click the zone you’re headed to for the actual order.2Arizona Interagency Wildfire Prevention. Fire Restrictions
County and municipal restrictions on private and unincorporated land are separate orders with separate boundaries. Coconino County Emergency Management takes questions at 928-679-8311 during weekday business hours.3Coconino County, Arizona. Fire Restriction Information You can drive a few miles from county land where campfires are legal onto forest land where they are not.
What You Can and Can’t Do Under Stage 1
Stage 1 is the common summer baseline. Campfires, charcoal fires, and wood stove fires are prohibited outside of developed recreation sites, meaning improved areas with established fire infrastructure like metal rings or grills.4eCFR. 36 CFR 261.52 – Fire A Forest Service campground with a concrete fire ring usually allows a campfire during Stage 1. A dispersed site you pulled off a forest road to reach does not.
Smoking is allowed inside an enclosed vehicle, inside a building, or at a developed recreation site. Anywhere else, you have to stop and stand inside a cleared area at least three feet across, scraped down to bare mineral soil with no needles or leaves within reach.4eCFR. 36 CFR 261.52 – Fire Flicking a cigarette while you walk is a violation and, in ponderosa duff, a serious ignition risk.
Stage 1 commonly restricts chainsaw use to cooler hours, requires spark arresters on any off-road internal combustion engine, and prohibits welding and open-flame torch work anywhere in the forest.4eCFR. 36 CFR 261.52 – Fire Exact hours and exemptions depend on the order in effect, so read the current one rather than relying on what applied last summer.
What Changes Under Stage 2
Stage 2 strips away most of the Stage 1 exceptions. All wood and charcoal fires are banned everywhere on forest land, including at developed campgrounds with established fire rings. If it burns solid fuel and produces an open flame, you cannot use it.5Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management. Stage II Restrictions
Equipment rules escalate too. Explosives, welding, and open-flame torches stay prohibited. Operating any internal combustion engine off designated roads is banned outright, not just restricted to certain hours.5Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management. Stage II Restrictions That covers more than people realize: chainsaws, dirt bikes, ATVs, and generators are all internal combustion engines. Generators get a narrow exemption only when they have an approved spark arrester and run inside a building, inside an enclosed vehicle, or inside an area cleared of all flammable material within three feet.6Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management. Fire Restrictions Driving on designated roads is still allowed as long as you park within ten feet of the roadway in a spot cleared of vegetation.
Smoking rules under Stage 2 often mirror Stage 1, but some orders drop the backcountry cleared-area exception and limit smoking to enclosed vehicles and buildings. Check the specific order.
Propane Stoves and Grills
Pressurized gas devices get different treatment because they don’t throw embers. During Stage 1, stoves and grills fueled by pressurized liquid petroleum or LPG (propane, butane, isobutane) are generally allowed, provided the device has an on-off valve for the flame.3Coconino County, Arizona. Fire Restriction Information A backpacking canister stove with a twist valve qualifies. A can of Sterno on a rock does not.
Under Stage 2, propane devices are usually still permitted but with tighter location rules. The surrounding ground has to be cleared of flammable vegetation and debris, with clearance distances set by the specific order. Expect at least a three-foot bare-ground perimeter around the device. Some Coconino County orders require a fifteen-foot clearance at developed sites.3Coconino County, Arizona. Fire Restriction Information Forest Service and county orders can impose different clearance requirements on adjacent parcels, so check both if your trip crosses jurisdictions.
When the Forest Is Fully Closed
In severe drought years, forest supervisors can close whole sections of the National Forest to public entry. During a closure, hiking, dispersed camping, off-road driving, and even pulling onto a forest road to eat lunch are all prohibited.4eCFR. 36 CFR 261.52 – Fire
Closure orders typically include exemptions for residents, permittees, and certain administrative users, but the specifics vary. If your home or cabin requires driving through National Forest land to reach, contact the relevant ranger district before a closure takes effect to confirm access and ask whether you need documentation to show at a checkpoint.
Closures are temporary. They generally stay in place until monsoon rains raise fuel moisture enough to drop the fire danger. On the Rim, that usually means sometime in July, though dry years have pushed closures into August.
Things Banned on Forest Land Year-Round
Some items are prohibited on National Forest land regardless of whether any restriction stage is in effect. Fireworks and exploding targets are never allowed. Tracer ammunition is also prohibited at all times. These bans don’t lift when restrictions do. What’s legal on private land in Arizona isn’t automatically legal in the forest.
Spark Arrester Requirements
Every internal combustion engine run on National Forest land must have a spark arrester, in every stage and in no stage. The arrester has to meet either SAE Standard J335 (small engines like chainsaws and string trimmers) or USDA Forest Service Specification 5100-1 (generators, motorcycles, and similar equipment). Both require that no carbon particle larger than 0.023 inches escapes the exhaust.7USDA Forest Service. An Introduction to Spark Arrestors: Spark Arresters and the Prevention of Wildland Fires
Mufflers, catalytic converters, and turbochargers with waste gates do not count as spark arresters, even though people assume they do. A turbocharger only qualifies if 100 percent of the exhaust passes through the turbine with no bypass. As the operator, you’re responsible for making sure the arrester is installed and working before you run equipment on forest land.7USDA Forest Service. An Introduction to Spark Arrestors: Spark Arresters and the Prevention of Wildland Fires
Penalties and Liability if You Get Caught
Violating a fire restriction order is a federal offense. The penalty provision at 36 CFR 261.1b sets a maximum of six months of imprisonment, a fine, or both.8eCFR. 36 CFR 261.1b – Penalty A six-month cap makes the offense a Class B misdemeanor under federal law.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3559 – Sentencing Classification of Offenses The fine ceiling is $5,000 for individuals and $10,000 for organizations.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3571 – Sentence of Fine
That’s only the criminal side. If an illegal fire of yours escapes, the federal government can pursue you for the full cost of suppression. Air tankers, hotshot crews, and heavy equipment in Rim country run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars quickly, and major fires have cost tens of millions. You can also face civil liability for damage to private property, timber, and natural resources. The criminal fine is often the smallest number on the bill.
When Restrictions Usually Start and End
Fire restrictions on the Rim track Arizona’s dry season. Mid-to-late May is a typical start for Stage 1 on both the Coconino and the Apache-Sitgreaves. Restrictions generally stay in place until the summer monsoon moves in, which usually means late June through July for Stage 1 and longer in dry monsoon years. Stage levels on neighboring forests can differ on the same day, because each forest sets its own order based on local conditions. Check the current orders before every trip.