State Wide Burn Ban in Wa

[Dakzuki]

All lands that come under state DNR protection now have a burn ban in effect. This includes fires in designated pits and includes campgrounds public and private.

We are getting mixed signals about whether propane "faux fires" are OK. DNR says yeas and the park we are going to tomorrow says no.

Meanwhile I get to unload all the wood I so carefully loaded on the cargo carrier.

[Pangaea_Ron]

Dakzuki

It looks like the fire ban has been lifted in Western Washington.

Linky

When we were at ocean City SP this week, the ranger said that if I had a control knob on my propane fire-pit, then it was OK to use during the burn ban.

They also mentioned the concerns in the above post.

They were very cooperative, and said that they would probably come by to have a look at it if we used it... we didn't.

[RedRocket204]

SDcampowneroperator wrote:
Faux Fires (propane kind) are under concern here also, not because they are a wildfire concern but because uninformed others see them and assume they can have a wood fire.

That is an extremely good point. Thank you for bringing it up!

[SDcampowneroper]

Faux Fires (propane kind) are under concern here also, not because they are a wildfire concern but because uninformed others see them and assume they can have a wood fire.
Last summer when we had a campfire ban a guest lit up their propane faux campfire. In minutes I had a phone call from a neighbor passing by to alert me, in the next ten minutes another guest lit up a wood fire, claiming well, they have a fire. as I was explaining to that guest about the ban on open burning and extinguishing the wood fire the sheriff arrived who grudgingly acceded that the faux fire was within the letter of the law, but not within the intent. The guests, with the faux fire, who were perfectly legal and aware of the restriction, were none the less discomfitted by the lawmans attention. What is it to be?
I graciously dismissed the deputy to let me work with my guests, within the letter of the law.
In meeting this spring with our county emergency services director he proposed that future bans include all forms of open flame outside any structure. My challenge to him was to provide evidence that a campfire ,or any open flame device in a licensed inspected camp has EVER caused a forest fire in SD. No. Not one.
The consequenses of those well meant intentions, if left unchallenged will not be to your liking.

[2gypsies1]

Pangaea Ron wrote:

Roy&Lynne wrote:

J herb wrote:
How about giving the firefighters a break and not have a fire, I wish that they would close it all down until we get some rain. I would rather see the forest green than black, you can have a fire when the weather is right.

This ALL ABOUT ME stuff is crap, you have a campfire that may start a fire than you go home and complain that the woods are on fire and it is so smoky that we couldn't stand it.

Thank you. I agree. While I live on the West side of the fires my heart aches for what is happening both here in Washington and in Southern California. Oregon is also a tinderbox right now and everyone is holding their breaths that nothing will happen.

I'd rather have "overkill".

x2

X3

We made the 911 call in a national forest campground the day folks left after their Memorial Day weekend. The campers didn't put out their fire completely, the wind picked up and blew sparks onto pine needles and immediately the fire took off through the campground. Firefighters came and it took 6 hours to put the fire out and the campground was closed for a month, along with the surrounding campgrounds.

A fire is extinguished when you can put your hand inside the ashes!!!

[Pangaea_Ron]

Roy&Lynne wrote:

J herb wrote:
How about giving the firefighters a break and not have a fire, I wish that they would close it all down until we get some rain. I would rather see the forest green than black, you can have a fire when the weather is right.

This ALL ABOUT ME stuff is crap, you have a campfire that may start a fire than you go home and complain that the woods are on fire and it is so smoky that we couldn't stand it.

Thank you. I agree. While I live on the West side of the fires my heart aches for what is happening both here in Washington and in Southern California. Oregon is also a tinderbox right now and everyone is holding their breaths that nothing will happen.

I'd rather have "overkill".

x2

[Roy_Lynne]

J herb wrote:
How about giving the firefighters a break and not have a fire, I wish that they would close it all down until we get some rain. I would rather see the forest green than black, you can have a fire when the weather is right.

This ALL ABOUT ME stuff is crap, you have a campfire that may start a fire than you go home and complain that the woods are on fire and it is so smoky that we couldn't stand it.

Thank you. I agree. While I live on the West side of the fires my heart aches for what is happening both here in Washington and in Southern California. Oregon is also a tinderbox right now and everyone is holding their breaths that nothing will happen.

I'd rather have "overkill".

[Pangaea_Ron]

Dakzuki: What did you discover?

Burn ban effective 7/31/2013 (From Sequim Bay SP Link)

This park is currently at Burn Ban Level 4: Extreme (Orange) - Fires are restricted to gas and propane (self-contained camping stoves allowed); No charcoal or fire allowed.

For information on burn bans throughout Washington state, you may visit the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) website. Please note that individual park burn bans may differ from DNR burn bans and may change without notice. Please check current conditions upon arriving at the park.

[J_herb]

How about giving the firefighters a break and not have a fire, I wish that they would close it all down until we get some rain. I would rather see the forest green than black, you can have a fire when the weather is right.

This ALL ABOUT ME stuff is crap, you have a campfire that may start a fire than you go home and complain that the woods are on fire and it is so smoky that we couldn't stand it.

[accsys]

I think it's something called overkill. I am currently sitting in Oregon's Ft Stevens State Park watching no fewer than six campfires within my line of sight. We are across the Columbia River about six miles south of Washington's Fort Columbia State Park where, I assume, they cannot have a fire. Oh, BTW, there is a light drizzle falling as I write this.:h

[Francesca_Knowl]

I understand the need for restrictions in truly vulnerable areas, but to totally ban campfires in State Park campgrounds is ridiculous. Especially on the East side, you won't find greener, more closely mowed grass...irrigation is often every night, and the ground is so consistently damp that you're gonna get a wet you-know-what if you sit down on it before about 2 o'clock in the afternoon.

It's true that there are some sections of some campgrounds where there's a little more fuel...but why every part of every campground is cut off is beyond me.

The U.S. Forest Service is much wiser in this regard...fire restrictions are up to the individual Ranger Districts, and are based on conditions on the ground. The rules can differ wildly inside each district. As they should.

[DarthMuffin]

I get a kick out of how the "potential for wildfire is unusually high" EVERY SINGLE YEAR. Seriously, this same memo comes out and they ban fires in about August every year. I wonder how many times it has to happen before it becomes usual?

I'm about 50 miles from the Goldendale fire and missed a day of work yesterday due to asthma from the smoke. Yeah, it's bad but I think a total ban is a bit much. Maybe restrict to developed fire rings, and no huge bonfires up over the lip of the ring either.

I'm sure it's happened but I can't think of any forest fires that have started from a campfire ring at a developed campsite. It's always lightning, cigarettes, ORVs, firearms (sparking when they hit a poorly chosen target), etc.

[2gypsies1]

Dakzuki wrote:

Pangaea Ron wrote:
Francesca is right in that this burn ban is restricted to DNR lands, although some cities, counties and fire districts do have burn bans that would control burning on private property.

We use a propane fire pit in these situations, and have not had a problem with it's use. A private campground may have it's own rules.

We are currently "discussing" the propane fire issue with Sequim Bay State Park (where we are going this weekend). So far the answer has been "no" in spite of us telling them what DNR says about it. I have previously used the faux fire at Pearrygin Lake during full on burn bans (common out there in late summer) without any problems.

There is an overall 'county' burn ban in this area.

[mockturtle]

This is from the WA State Park web site:

Burn ban effective 7/31/2013
This park is currently at Burn Ban Level 4: Extreme (Orange) - Fires are restricted to gas and propane (self-contained camping stoves allowed); No charcoal or fire allowed.

For information on burn bans throughout Washington state, you may visit the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) website. Please note that individual park burn bans may differ from DNR burn bans and may change without notice. Please check current conditions upon arriving at the park.

Please do us a big favor and forgo your campfire. We have a severe problem here and it's going to get worse with thunderstorms this week. Thank you!!

[Pangaea_Ron]

As a bit of an aside. I stay in my RV with a friend in the Okanogan Valley in E WA where a range fire burned property all around him. He is a former fire commissioner in the area, and I asked him who was responsible for putting out that fire. I understood from what he said that the DNR? put out the fire which included air drops. I asked him who paid for it, as the fire was started by the adjacent owner's construction activity on his property. He said the the individual owner was not responsible, unless the fire jumped unto another property, which it did not. So we all paid for it.

I think that intent is to have an owner call for help as soon as possible without regard to cost.

I'd be glad to have anyone clarify my understanding of this.