The 2024 California State Fair in Sacramento opens today! Every year through an interagency collaboration, the Forest Service, CAL FIRE, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Firefighters Burn Institute brings visitors of all ages a fun, educational, and interactive fire safety and prevention exhibit called Camp Smokey.

This year, visitors to Camp Smokey can earn a free limited edition Smokey Bear 80th birthday bandana by completing each of the six unique education stations. People of all ages are invited to start by picking up a passport for their journey at the Incident Command Post. They will learn about home and wildland fire safety, fire prevention, responsible recreation, the history of Smokey Bear, traditional Native American uses of fire, and fire’s role in nature. Smokey Bear and his friends perform a fun and educational puppet show at the top of each hour. This year, guests will receive a limited-edition item at the completion of each station!

Guests will have the opportunity to tour fire trucks, play games, win prizes, saw logs to brand and take home, dress up like a firefighter, learn from expert fire safety personnel and so much more! Camp Smokey is open every day of the State Fair Monday through Thursday from 11 A.M. to 6 P.M., and Friday through Sunday from 10 A.M. to 6 P.M.  The California State Fair runs from July 12th through July 28th, 2024.

New exhibits this year include a Bureau of Indian Affairs Community Arbor, Forest Service Ranger House, Bureau of Land Management Trail improvements, and Interagency interactive 911 learning experience where guests can practice calling 911 and relaying vital information to a live dispatcher during an emergency.

On Saturday July 20th, at 12:15 P.M. Camp Smokey’s interagency team will be hosting an 80th birthday celebration for Smokey Bear. There will be activities, cake, and of course Smokey himself!

For more information, please visit the Camp Smokey webpage or follow us on Facebook.

REDDING, Calif.— The Bureau of Land Management has lifted an emergency closure order on public roads, trails and facilities in the Sacramento River Bend Outstanding Natural Area north of Red Bluff, as dangers from the Park Fire have been reduced.

The BLM has also issued a temporary restriction on target shooting in the Spring Branch area of the Bend, citing ongoing region-wide high fire danger. The order will be rescinded when fire dangers ease.

“Fire crews have done outstanding work completing containment lines on the west side of the fire that threatened the Bend Area, and we feel the closure can be lifted,” said Jennifer Mata, manager of the BLM Redding Field Office. “However, ongoing extreme fire dangers and depleted fire fighting resources in the Bend Area dictate the need for the target shooting closure. We also ask people to remember that seasonal fire restrictions are in place.”

The outstanding natural area stretches includes river frontage and oak woodlands stretching from the Jelly’s Ferry area north of Red Bluff to the Anderson Area.
 

SACRAMENTO, Calif. –  The Bureau of Land Management, in partnership with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, will offer four saddle-trained wild horses for adoption, in a virtual event via Zoom on Thursday, Aug. 15, at 6 p.m.

Those with approved BLM adoption applications can view the horses in person at the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Facility, 12500 Bruceville Road, Elk Grove, on Saturday, Aug. 10, from 9 a.m. to noon. Winning bidders will pick up their horses on Saturday, Aug. 17, at times to be arranged at the above Elk Grove location.

Anyone interested in participating in the online event must first complete a BLM adoption application available online and then email it to Amy Dumas, manager of the BLM-California Wild Horse and Burro Program, at adumas@blm.gov. After approval, applicants will receive registration information and a bidder number for the Zoom event. For personal security purposes, the BLM advises against listing Social Security numbers or driver’s license numbers on the application. A BLM representative will contact applicants via phone for that required information.

To qualify, adopters must be at least 18 years old and have facilities that meet the BLM’s requirements. Title to the animals remains with the federal government for a year, after which adopters can apply for title. Detailed information about adopter qualifications and facility requirements are available from the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program.

The BLM and Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office have been partners in this program since 2013. Inmates at the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Facility train mustangs to saddle, providing adopters with a solid foundation on which to build additional training. Details and photos of horses up for adoption are available at https://www.blm.gov/californiaR3Cwildhorseadoption.

The BLM is responsible under the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act for protecting and managing wild horses and burros on public lands. The agency periodically removes animals from the range when populations exceed levels established to allow wild horse and burro herds to thrive in balance with other range users, including wildlife and permitted livestock. These animals are then available for adoption at events throughout the country.

There is more information about the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program online.