7 Riverside County parks shut down as fire safety precaution

Seven parks in Riverside County, which were identified as hazardous fire areas, were closed Wednesday until further notice. 

This is something that Cal Fire and the Riverside County Fire Department do around this time every year as a precaution, department spokesperson April Newman told KPCC. 

"Certain areas of the county have a higher risk of fire danger, and so to avoid having any injuries or fatalities to the citizens or residents and visitors of the area, we close specific areas for their safety,” she said.  

These are areas that have an abundance of dry brush but that don't normally receive a large amount of public traffic, Newman said. 

Here are the affected recreational areas:

• Avery Canyon, along Gibbel Road, east of State Street in southeast Hemet
• Indian Canyon and North Mountain in San Jacinto
• Minto Way in Sage, north of Aguanga
• Nuevo/Lakeview, east of Menifee Road and San Jacinto Avenue
• Ramona Bowl and Bautista Canyon, southeast of Hemet
• Reinhardt Canyon, north of state Route 74 and California Avenue in Hemet
• Whitewater Canyon near Cabazon

Newman also noted that there's a burn restriction in the county that prohibits open-fire cooking without the approval of a local fire department.

See maps of the closed parks below:

Hazardous fire areas