Grass fires are too hot to handle

Published 10:10 am Thursday, October 2, 2008

Going camping? Forget the campfire. It’s too dry and in unincorporated King County, campfires are now illegal.

The King County Fire Marshal’s Office expanded the already-existing burn ban Sept. 6 to include all cooking and recreational fires of any kind. The ban will remain in effect until significant rainfall occurs.

“It’s been drier than usual,” said King County Fire Marshall John Klopfenstein. The dry conditions, combined with forecasted weather patterns and the large number of wildland fires in the state, contributed to Klopfenstein’s decision to expand the ban.

“It certainly has heated up as far as the activity,” said Eastside Fire and Rescue Chief Lee Soptich. EFR provides fire service to Carnation, Issaquah, North Bend, Sammamish, Preston, May Valley, Tiger Mountain and Wilderness Rim.

Soptich said his department has received more calls than usual in recent weeks about wildfires.

“It’s nice and tender out there,” Soptich said.

Three large ongoing wildfires in the western part of the state highlight the potential for danger, he said.

Carelessness is the key cause of wildfires, Soptich said. Discarded cigarette butts, unattended illegal fires and fireworks can combine with the dry conditions to create a high risk of fire, he said.

Klopfenstein said most Western Washington grassfires are started by cigarette butts being tossed from automobile windows along state roadways. They land in dry grass and can ignite into a fire, he said.

The stricter burn ban was imposed to reduce as many fire risks as possible, Klopfenstein said.

A burn ban was activated for unincorporated King County July 20, prohibiting large, outdoor burn piles.

The expanded ban includes campfires, which often are exempted from bans. Charcoal and propane grills are not prohibited by the burn ban, but wood fires and other open fires are no longer allowed under the new ban.

The stricter ban was issued in conjunction with the state Department of Natural Resources and Pierce, Mason and Kitsap counties. The cities of Snoqualmie and North Bend have a year-round burn ban in effect in their urban growth areas.

Charcoal and propane grills remain legal in the two cities, though fire officials urge caution when using any type of fire.