It was not long ago when this was a common term issued by the forest service when in the summer months fire risk was high. What it entailed was the suspension of any activities that could spark a fire. First foremost, it applied to logging operations and equally important firewood cutters. On days declared hoot owl went into effect at 1:00 p.m. all such activity was curtailed. If you were a wood cutter while you were no longer able to use your chain saw, you could still have plenty time to load up the wood one had cut. Ditto, for log landings, if there were trucks present, they could be loaded, but all other operations were suspended.

Tim