Posted
Updated
Update:
Beginning Tuesday, Nov. 22 at 12 p.m., the High-Fire Danger Burn Ban put back in effect over the weekend will be lifted in Washington County. With the help of rains and the passing of the recent weather pattern, the Washington County Fire Defense Board has voted to lift the ban.
Original release:
In consultation with the Oregon Department of Forestry and other members of the Washington County Fire Defense Board, all Washington County fire agencies are re-enacting a High Fire Danger Burn Ban.
The ban will remain in place until weather patterns change due to increased wildfire risk.
The burn ban prohibits all the following:
- Backyard or open burning (branches, yard debris, etc.)
- Agricultural burning (agricultural wastes, crops, field burning, etc.).
- Any other land clearing, slash, stump, waste, debris, or controlled burning.
The burn ban does not prohibit:
- Small outdoor cooking, warming, or recreational fires. These include portable or permanent fire pits, fire tables, and campfires, in a safe location away from combustibles or vegetation and are fully extinguished after use.
- Barbeque grills, smokers, and similar cooking appliances with clean, dry firewood, briquettes, wood chips, pellets, propane, natural gas, or similar fuels.
There may be more restrictive fire safety rules on and within a 1/8 mile of Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF)-protected land, which exists throughout much of rural Washington County. ODF restrictions may include prohibitions on campfires, smoking, target shooting, powered equipment, motorized vehicles, and other public/private landowner and industrial fire restrictions. More details about ODF fire restrictions are available at https://gisapps.odf.oregon.gov/firerestrictions/PFR.html.
The burn ban was re-enacted due to brush fires over the past couple of days that originated from outdoor burning.
Fire chiefs in Washington County encourage the public to use extreme caution with activities that could start a fire. It is everyone’s responsibility to prevent and be prepared for wildfires. Community members are encouraged to continue exercising caution and taking steps to prevent and prepare for the threat of wildfires. When considering whether to enact or end a burn ban, fire officials examine several factors including fuel moisture levels, weather forecasts and fire behavior. Fire officials have determined that recent rainfall will have little impact on reducing the potential for burn piles to escape and grow out of control.
Washington County fire agencies include Banks Fire District #13, Cornelius Fire Department, Forest Grove Fire Department, Gaston Rural Fire District, Hillsboro Fire & Rescue, and Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue.