Campfire bans begin to take hold in Washington as dry weather persists

Campfire bans are beginning to take hold in Washington as hot weather persists and the first wildfires of the summer have ignited.

Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area announced that campfires would be banned beginning Friday.

“No open flames are permitted. This includes, but is not limited to, all fires in NPS provided fire rings and boxes, shoreline fires, charcoal fires, tiki torches, incense burners, candles, pellet smokers, and propane campfires,” reads a National Park Service news release issued Monday.

Fire Marshals from the Spokane, Spokane Valley, Spokane County, Cheney, Airway Heights and Deer Park fire departments all enacted a “Fire Danger Burn Restriction” within their jurisdictions at the beginning of July.

Washington state is “not quite” ready for campfire bans on Department of Natural Resources land, while Spokane and surrounding communities have already imposed burn bans. According to DNR Wildfire Assistant Division Manager Angie Lane, such bans on campfires might be implemented in August as the department weighs several risk factors, including weather patterns. So far, the fire season has been “normal.”

“Between fireworks on the 4th, campfires and lightning, we may be starting to see above-average,” Lane said. However, the wildlife specialist noted the state did not want to inconvenience campers if it was not needed.

“You tell someone you can’t have a campfire and they lose their mind,” she said.

One camper in Spokane Monday afternoon was unbothered by such a campfire prohibition.

“I like campfires, but I like the forest better,” said Cheryl Callicutt, who was camping at Riverside State Park on Monday.

Burn bans are used by DNR to avoid wildfires during hot and dry weather. A campfire ban prohibits outdoor fires on all state, county, city and private land under DNR fire protection. This includes all state forests, and forestlands and campgrounds managed by the department, according to its website.

Those who ignore a burn notice can be charged criminally and be subject to reimbursement of the costs of fighting fires.

Lane emphasized that fire protection regulation overlaps among many local, state and federal agencies, and burn bans may already be instituted by these other levels of government.

“Just don’t use anything outside with an open flame,” said Spokane Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer.

Asked whether state parks in Spokane would still be subject to the campfire burning restrictions, Schaeffer noted they are in place in Riverside State Park as well as city parks.

“Everybody follows those rules. I don’t know anyone that is exempt from that,” he said.

The Spokane Fire Department does not enforce bans on campfires issued by the Department of Natural Resources, but they use data from the department to inform their decisions regarding burn bans.

“We try to keep in sync with DNR because it’s confusing to the public when we’re saying different things,” Schaeffer told The Spokesman-Review.

Schaeffer said his department gets “99.999%” voluntary compliance concerning burning violations in the city. They typically do not issue an infraction unless the individual has a “propensity” for flouting fire restrictions.

Lane said Eastern Washington is not currently the wildfire hot spot in the state. Instead, she pointed to areas within the Columbia River Basin.

Restrictions on campfires also hold true across the Canadian border in British Columbia, where all recreational fires were banned. Enacted Monday afternoon, the near-provincewide campfire ban joins other restrictions put in place last week. The precautions are an effort to curb the estimated 315 wildfires currently burning in the province, according to the CBC.

While the Canadian wildfires might affect air quality in Washington, they are unlikely to affect any wildfires stateside. DNR has sent resources to Canada to fight their fires, but “only what we’re willing to spare,” Lane said.

Reporter Paige Van Buren contributed to this article.