Burn bans will go into effect throughout the North Olympic Peninsula on Wednesday.
The Jefferson County burn ban will continue through at least August, East Jefferson Fire-Rescue Chief Chuck Tandy said.
The Clallam County ban will remain in effect until Oct. 1, county Fire Marshal Leon Smith said.
Olympic National Park and Olympic National Forest mirror Clallam County’s schedule, Larry Nickey, fire management officer for Olympic National Park, said.
“Sometime in late summer we will do some force management burning, but we will make sure to coordinate that with the county,” he said.
The burn bans are for burning areas larger than 3-by-3 feet, Smith said.
Nickey added that personal campfires would still be permitted.
“In designated fire pits, they can still have small fires,” he said.
“Of course, the campfires wouldn’t be bigger than that kind of area.”
Smith said if weather conditions continue the ban shouldn’t be extended.
“Recreational fires are still allowed unless further banned by extreme conditions,” he said.
“However, as has been the law for many years, burn barrels are illegal in the state of Washington.”
No outdoor burning is allowed within any city limits or other urban growth areas including Joyce and Quilcene, Smith said.
Smith and Tandy both said the bans would be constantly re-evaluated for conditions and could be extended or shortened depending on weather conditions.
