Fire restrictions will stay in place on the North Olympic Peninsula until the region receives more rainfall, fire officials said last week.
“There simply has not been enough rainfall to significantly reduce our threat for an uncontrolled wildfire” said Sam Phillips, fire chief of Clallam Fire District 2 and president of the Clallam County Fire Chiefs Association.
Clallam County has kept in place its prohibition on outdoor burning with the exception of recreational fires limited in size with proper clearances.
The Jefferson County Fire Chiefs Association modified its burn ban last Sunday, allowing recreational fires and barbecue grills. Land-clearing burns remain prohibited. That ban will be reviewed later this month.
The state Department of Natural Resources rates fire danger as moderate in both Clallam and Jefferson counties.
The lack of measurable rainfall on the North Olympic Peninsula has both state and local fire officials concerned about the risk of wildfires locally, Phillips said.
They will “adjust the burn restrictions once significant rainfall has reduced the threat level,” he said.
To monitor changes, see http://tinyurl.com/PDN-clallamfire, http://tinyurl.com/PDN-jeffersonfire and http://tinyurl.com/PDN-dnrfire.
More than 90 percent of the state’s wildfires this year have been human-caused, DNR said.
Escaped and abandoned campfires are one of the state’s leading causes of wildfires, with an average of 105 fires started by campfires over the past five years, DNR said, adding that the state has an average of 140 fires started by debris burning every year.
