COEUR d'ALENE - Significant rainfall and cooler temperatures have prompted fire officials to remove fire restrictions throughout North Idaho, but some closed areas may still be off-limits.

Most local land management agencies will lift fire restrictions beginning today.

"Fire restrictions on all lands, except for IDFG wildlife management areas in the Clearwater Region, will be lifted," according to a press release issued Tuesday afternoon.

Some of the burned closure areas may remain closed but they will be significantly reduced, according to Jason Kirchner, spokesman for the Panhandle National Forest.

Federal land managers, in conjunction with the state of Idaho, are modifying temporary emergency wildfire closures in order to significantly reduce the size of the closure areas, he stated in a press release.

"Fire restrictions and fire closures are two different things," Kirchner explained. Fire restrictions are a fire prevention tool, and closures are for public safety."

Kirchner said most of the areas that are currently closed will shrink, but areas where the fire burned will likely remain closed until mid-winter. Although the moisture has slowed the spread of fires, they are not out yet.

"Just because it's cool on top doesn't mean someone couldn't step in a stump hole and burn their leg up to their thigh," he said, adding the fires also destabilize the soil which could cause rock slides and falling trees.

But now that restrictions have been lifted, hunters and campers can return to the woods.

Kirchner said most of the federal campgrounds close after Labor Day, so they are not likely to reopen.

"But if it is a campground that typically stays open after Labor Day, they will be reopened," he said. "Any place that is opened you can now hunt in and have a responsible campfire."

Some of the most significant emergency closure area reductions are for the Coeur d'Alene River and St. Joe Ranger Districts, Kirchner said in the release.

"The modified closure areas improve public access to much of the forest, but will remain in place to provide for public and firefighter safety until further assessments determine the areas are safe to completely reopen," Kirchner said.

Until additional rain and snow put the fires out, fire crews will continue to closely monitor these fires and take action to safely contain them whenever possible, Kirchner said. Smoke will persist in these areas until enough moisture arrives to fully extinguish the fires.

Kirchner said all of the fire management agencies north of Moscow agreed to lift restrictions and reduce the closure areas.

"Thank you to the public for their continued efforts to be cautious with fire when visiting their public lands," said Suzanne Endsley, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. "While the recent precipitation has helped, the rainfall amounts have varied across the area from 3-plus inches to just under an inch."

Cool autumn evenings prompt having a campfire, but if it is not completely extinguished - cool to the touch - the warm fall days can turn any lingering heat into a wildfire, Endsley said.

While hunting and camping are now allowed in the opened areas of the forest, people should use caution.

When entering previously closed areas forest visitors may encounter changed conditions and are strongly urged to avoid lingering in burned areas or traveling on wildfire control lines, Kirchner said in the release. Although there may be new dozer line in the forest, these areas remain closed to motorized use. Visitors should refer to the forest's Motor Vehicle Use Map when traveling on forest roads. A free map can be picked up at any local Forest Service office.

For information on the modified closure areas, including maps and closure orders, visit the Idaho Panhandle National Forests homepage located at www.fs.usda.gov/IPNF.

Fire restrictions lifted

According to fire managers in the Idaho Panhandle National Forest, stage I and stage II fire restrictions will be lifted in all areas as described below:

* Coeur d'Alene Fire Restrictions Area, All Zones: All land located in Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai, Shoshone, Benewah, and Latah counties.

* Grangeville Fire Restrictions Area, Zone 1 and 2: All of Nez Perce, Clearwater, and Lewis counties. Those portions of Idaho County that are north of the Salmon River and east of Riggins, west of Highway 95 south of Riggins and are not federal lands designated as wilderness, as well as that portion of Adams County that lies within the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area.

* Payette Fire Restrictions Area, but only Zone 4: All state, private, and BLM land, except that located within National Forest System boundaries, south of the main Salmon River to Smokey Boulder road.

Areas remaining in stage II restrictions are described below:

* Idaho Department of Fish and Game lands across the Clearwater Region. IDFG is maintaining stage II fire restrictions on IDFG lands across the Clearwater Region. This includes all Wildlife Management Areas, lakes and reservoirs, and fishing access areas owned or managed by IDFG across Latah, Clearwater, Nez Perce, Lewis, and Idaho counties.