Washington DNR Lifts Statewide Burn Ban, Citing Recent Rains

OLYMPIA, WA — The Washington State Department of Natural Resource's statewide burn ban has been lifted ahead of schedule, and state leaders are expressing hope that the fire season may be drawing to a close.

"Effective today, I am lifting the statewide burn ban on all forest lands under DNR fire protection," said Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz. "With autumn rains and shifting weather conditions, I am optimistic that we've turned a corner."

The ban had originally been set to expire on Sept. 30, but DNR leadership says recent rainfall helped move the timeline forward. The move means campfires, outdoor burning, prescribed burns and the use of charcoal briquettes are allowed once again on DNR forest lands.

The ban first went into effect in late July, outlawing burns on 12 million acres of DNR-managed public and private land in Washington state. At the time, state firefighters were battling four large wildfires— and went on to tackle many more, as this summer's fire season was one of Washington's worst yet.

Related: Climate Change Makes Forests More Flammable Now Than Any Time In Past 2,000 Years

“It’s been a long, challenging wildfire season that began with a historic number of fires that were unrelenting – until now,” Commissioner Franz said.

In total, the DNR says their firefighters tackled more than 1,100 fires this fire season. 98 percent of those were caught early, and 93 percent were stopped before they grew to more than 10 acres. That's six percent better than the 10-year average, an improvement that the DNR says is a direct result of the burn ban: because the ban helped cut down on human-caused fires, it gave firefighters had the extra time they needed to quickly tackle other fires sparked by lightning or other causes.

“DNR can and will do everything in our power to fight wildfire and protect Washington communities,” Commissioner Franz said. “But we’ll always need the help of our friends and neighbors across this great state to limit human-caused wildfires, keep our firefighters safe and to ensure we successfully make it through each and every fire season.”

Last week, the Department of Natural Resources also reopened recreational land east of the Cascades for public use. Like the burn ban, the land had been closed to the public in an effort to prevent additional wildfires.

Related: State Firefighters Must Be Vaccinated Against COVID: Commissioner