With more wet weather on the way, Washington state officials start lifting burn bans
With the start of fall just days away, burn bans around the state are beginning to be lifted by county and state officials thanks to recent rainfall and forecasts of continued precipitation.
Starting Monday, people will again be able to enjoy campfires and charcoal grilling on forest lands managed by the Washington state Department of Natural Resources.
In Pierce County, the burn ban in unincorporated areas will be lifted Tuesday morning. Burning is restricted to natural vegetation, and burning is still prohibited in areas where pollution laws apply or where local fire districts limit burning.
The statewide ban on outdoor burning, campfires, prescribed burns and the use of charcoal briquettes on grills was lifted 10 days earlier than scheduled thanks to the arrival of moist fall weather and rain forecast on both sides of the Cascades.
DNR Commissioner Hilary Franz announced the ban’s lift Monday on Twitter. The ban was scheduled to end Sept. 30, but Franz said in the post that shifting weather conditions made her optimistic the state has turned a corner on the fire season.
“It’s been a long, challenging wildfire season that began with a historic number of fires that were unrelenting – until now,” Franz said in a news release.
Monday’s announcement comes less than a week after the department reopened public access to lands east of the Cascades. Those lands were closed in July due to extreme heat, drought and wildfire danger.
DNR-managed lands include more than 160 recreation sites and 1,200 miles of trail. Available campgrounds, trailheads and day use areas can be explored on the department’s website.
Several national parks also began lifting their burn bans last week, similarly citing cooler, moist weather decreasing fire danger.
Mount Rainier National Park will now allow campfires at three campgrounds including the Ohanapecosh Campground, the Cougar Rock Campground and the White River Campground. Burn bans were also lifted at Olympic National Park, North Cascades National Park and the Olympic and Mount Baker-Snoqualmie national forests.
Washington State Parks still has burn bans in place. The latest updates can be found on each park’s website.
This story was originally published September 20, 2021 at 12:42 PM with the headline "With more wet weather on the way, Washington state officials start lifting burn bans."
