Closures on Arizona state land lifting Friday with fire restrictions for some

PHOENIX – Arizona forest fire officials said recreational closures on state trust lands will be lifted Friday.

Access to recreational areas will reopen at 8 a.m., the Arizona State Department of Forestry and Fire Management said, and Stage 2 fire restrictions will go back into place in most counties.

State-owned and managed lands in Maricopa, Apache, Coconino, Gila, La Paz, Mohave, Navajo, Pinal, Yavapai and Yuma counties will return to that level of fire restrictions.

The Arizona State Land Department also signed off on the plan that was announced Wednesday.

Applications for recreational permits will be available at the land agency website the same time as the reopening.

Regulations ban campfires and outdoor smoking. Target shooting and lighting fireworks are forbidden all year, officials said.

Closures went into place as multiple fires engulfed wildlands around the state. The blazes forced evacuations and closed highways.

National forests around the state reopened this week, also with Stage 2 fire restrictions in place.

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