Monongahela National Forest Issues Forest Wide Fire Restriction

Effective immediately, building, maintaining, attending, or using a wood or charcoal fire or campfire is prohibited on all National Forest lands, roads, and trails within the confines of the exterior boundary of Monongahela National Forest, except for the certain areas.

Any individual or group lawfully camped in the Forest Service developed campgrounds and cabins, when the fire is in a Forest Service provided fire ring designed and installed for the purpose of a campfire at the designated campsite, are EXEMPT from this restriction. This includes:

Bear Haven Campground

Big Rock Campground

Bishop Knob Campground

Blue Bend Campground and Small Pavilion

Cranberry Campground

Day Run Campground

Gatewood Campground

Hopkins Mountain Fireman’s Cabin

Island Campground

Laurel Fork Campground

Middle Mountain Cabins

Pocahantas Campground

Red Creek Campground

Summit Lake Campground

Tea Creek Campground

Williams River Campsites

The purpose of this fire restriction is to protect public health and safety and natural resources by prohibiting recreational fires during periods of high fire danger. Due to the current long-term drought the Forest has been experiencing, and associated low ground fuel moisture content, any fire start would prove difficult to suppress. This order is also to compliment and manage in partnership with cooperators from the state of West Virginia that are implementing similar restrictions on a state-wide basis.

By enacting this order, we will be eliminating potential ignition sources from dangerous and unwanted wildfires and working with our cooperators in the state of West Virginia to provide one unified management strategy for all public lands in the state of West Virginia.

Additionally, Monongahela National Forest officials have closed Forest Road 76 (Cranberry Road) between the North Fork Shelter and the Dogway Shelter to permit construction work on the Birchlog Run and Tumbling Rock Run bridges.

Active construction is expected to end sometime in November 2024 for the winter and resume in Spring 2025. Both bridges have been removed and new structures are anticipated to be installed by July 2025.

Visitors are advised to exercise caution in the project area along Forest Road 76 and Forest Road 102. Visitors are further advised to avoid the bridge sites while construction activities are underway. A significant increase in truck and equipment traffic on Forest Road 76 and Forest Road 102 is expected during the project. Pedestrian traffic in the area is permissible when construction is not actively taking place. Please note that Birchlog Run and Tumbling Rock Run streams will have to be forded on foot.

Further information may be obtained at https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/mnf/alerts-notices.