Upon conferring with District Ranger Tim Lahey of the Butte Ranger District Office of the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest and the Butte-Silver Bow Director of Fire Services, Brian Doherty, the Butte-Silver Bow Public Works and Parks and Recreation Departments have determined that it is necessary to immediately close Basin Creek Reservoir and Basin Creek Park to public access due to current risk of wildfires in the Basin Creek watershed. The Basin Creek area will remain closed until conditions improve. We regret the inconvenience this will cause the public, especially those who had reserved the park for events later this summer, but we believe it is extremely important to protect the watershed that provides Butte with is highest quality, lowest cost source of potable water.