Campfire Safety Essential to Preventing Disaster

Many Woodinville residents look forward to getting away on summer camping holidays. Hours of preparation include searching for an available location, slogging to the site with loads of gear, wrestling with tent poles, sleeping bags and mess kits, and finally, relaxing around a gently crackling campfire.

But the tiniest of embers from a dying or unattended fire can develop into a devastating inferno, destroying campsites, threatening human lives and wildlife, incinerating entire forests.

To better protect Washington, the Department of Natural Resources is reminding everyone that nine out of 10 wildfires are caused by people, so personal responsibility is essential to preventing a disaster.

Campfires may be allowed in approved fire pits, but a statewide burn ban takes effect Friday, July 1, through Sept. 30 for all DNR-protected land.

Before you build a fire, check the DNR website for Burn Risk maps to identify areas under a fire ban due to increased risk of wildfire. Wildfires can spread quickly from undeveloped land to entire neighborhoods. The Fire Information and Prevention site even offers landscaping tips to reduce wildfire damage to homes. Next, confirm you have a landowner’s permission to build a campfire. If you’re not sure about the land ownership, contact your local DNR Regional Office.

No region of the country has been spared from the devastating effects of wildfires this spring. Hundreds of thousands of acres have been engulfed by New Mexico’s Wallow wildfire. In Texas alone, more than 3.2 million acres have burned. Alaska, Georgia, North Carolina and Florida are currently battling blazes. According to InciWeb, an incident and risk tracking system coordinated by regional, state and federal agencies, at least 40 wildfires have remained on "active" status across the United States since June.  (There aren't any listed in Washington state so far.)

If you plan to build a campfire at an approved site, make sure to familiarize yourself with the fire burning regulations. The DNR offers tips to reduce the risk of injuries and wildfires:

• Keep campfires small and attended to at all times. Never leave children or pets unattended near the fire.
• Extinguish campfires completely.  Use lots of water and/or dirt, stirring until all hissing sounds have stopped. Do not simply bury the fire in dirt because coals will continue burning underneath. Make sure the campfire is cold to the touch.  If not, use more water and dirt.
• Never leave a campsite if the fire is even slightly smoldering. Wind can easily reignite a fire if any embers remain or warm ash can be blown from the fire pit to a fuel source of nearby leaves and twigs .
• And with the Fourth of July coming up, remember, it's illegal to discharge fireworks on DNR-protected lands.

Adults and children would benefit from reviewing Smokey Bear’s camp fire management practices, found on one convenient page here.