About GroundTruth

GroundTruth answers one question — can I have a campfire here, right now? — for US public lands, and backs every answer with the signed order it came from.

How the data works

Land-management agencies (the Forest Service, BLM, the Park Service, states and counties) publish fire-restriction orders — the legal documents that actually govern campfires. GroundTruth reads those orders directly and turns them into a plain status for each management unit: no restrictions, Stage 1, Stage 2, or a closure. Every unit links to the order behind it, so you can check our work against the source.

The guiding rule is fail-closed: where we don't hold a confirmed order, or a type of land isn't in our sources, we say the status is unknown and tell you to assume restrictions apply — we never fill a gap with a guess, and we never imply a fire is allowed when we can't confirm it.

What this is, and isn't

GroundTruth is an independent project. It is not affiliated with the USDA Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, or any state agency. The data is compiled from official orders, but errors and delays are possible. Always verify with the managing agency before lighting any fire, and when in doubt, assume restrictions apply. The safety verdict is free, always.

Found an error?

If a status here doesn't match the signed order — or an order changed and we haven't caught up — please tell us. Accurate data is the whole point, and reports from people on the ground help more than anything.

Email contact@campfirecheck.com — for data corrections, press, or partnership inquiries.

Page updated 2026-06-17.