If you plan to spend the holiday in the Deschutes National Forest, take a tip from the U.S. Forest Service, which manages it. Fire danger is high and growing higher, and the last thing the forest needs is a human-caused fire.

Already this year it’s had more than its share. On Monday, seven human-caused fire starts were reported, says Jean Nelson-Dean of the Forest Service.

The danger is real. The weather has been warmer than average and the winter snowpack well below average. Snowpack is important not only for streams in the area, but also for the land in the forest. When the snowpack disappears ahead of schedule, as it has this year, grasses get an early start on growth and an equally early start on drying out.

That means, says Nelson-Dean, that the small fuels — dried grasses and the like — are already tinder dry.

Campers, picnickers and others should keep that in mind, she says, and, ideally, be prepared. That means taking water and a shovel with you into the woods. It also means making sure any campfire is dead out before leaving. Dead out, by the way, means you can put your hand on the former fire and find it cool to the touch.

Nor should you plan to take even the most “harmless” fireworks with you. They’re banned on all federal lands, for one thing, and they’re all capable of starting fires.

So far the Forest Service has imposed no restrictions on forest use, but that can change as early as next week if the weather stays hot and dry. Restrictions may limit where forest visitors can smoke, travel or have a campfire.

For now, though, all those activities are allowed. So enjoy the holiday, and enjoy the forest, but treat it with care. It’s too hot and too dry to do anything else.