U.S. Forest Service closes all California National Forests due to wildfires

(KION) The U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region said it will be temporarily closing all National Forests in California due to wildfires burning around the state.

Two days ago, eight of the forests were closed, including the Los Padres National Forest. The new closures include the ten that had originally remained open.

The forests that will be closed starting at 5 p.m. Wednesday include: Eldorado National Forest, Klamath National Forest, Lassen National Forest, Mendocino National Forest, Modoc National Forest, Six Rivers National Forest, Plumas National Forest, Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Tahoe National Forest and Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit.

“The number of large fires and extreme fire behavior we are seeing across the State is historic," said Regional Forester Randy Moore. "These temporary closures are necessary to protect the public and our firefighters, and we will keep them in place until conditions improve and we are confident that National Forest visitors can recreate safely. I ask all Californians and visitors to take these closures and evacuations seriously for their own safety and to allow our firefighters to focus on the mission of safely suppressing these fires."

The Dolan Fire is burning in the Los Padres National Forest in southern Monterey County. According to Cal Fire, there are 28 major wildfires burning around the state.