Washington state sets burn ban for DNR lands

With a heat wave rapidly increasing fire danger throughout the state, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources is expanding the burn ban from DNR-protected lands in eastern Washington to include those west of the Cascades, the agency announced July 11.

July 15, 2014 8:28 pm

With a heat wave rapidly increasing fire danger throughout the state, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources is expanding the burn ban from DNR-protected lands in eastern Washington to include those west of the Cascades, the agency announced July 11.

The burn ban will run from today through Sept. 30. It applies to all forestlands under DNR fire protection, which does not include federally owned lands.

“Washington is experiencing high heat and very low humidity, which is creating a dangerous situation,” Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark said. “We are asking everyone to take extra care to avoid any risk of causing a fire.”

This fire season, there already have been 265 fires on DNR-protected lands, with the majority caused by humans. The department protects about 13 million acres throughout the state and operates the state’s largest fire-fighting force with more than 1,000 trained staff.