Practice fire safety during the holiday weekend
July 1, 2010
By Staff
NEW — 1 p.m. July 1, 2010
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife encourages outdoors enthusiasts to be careful with fire on wildfire-prone land during the Fourth of July weekend.
People cause 85 percent of wildfires in the Evergreen State, state Department of Natural Resources wildfire experts said. Obey fire restrictions and use caution and common sense to preserve public recreation lands and wildlife habitat.
“Our cold, wet spring may have some thinking that fire danger is low,” agency Lands Manager Paul Dahmer said in a news release. “But those conditions actually made for extraordinarily lush vegetation that is now drying out and becoming fuel for wildfire.”
Remember: The state has restrictions on campfires and prohibitions on fireworks on 900,000 acres of wildlife areas and water-access sites managed by the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
In places where campfires can be lit, they usually must be contained in metal fire rings and kept to less than three feet in height and diameter. Find rules by location here. Check local fire-danger levels and burn-ban information here.
Follow these campfire safety tips from the Department of Natural Resources:
- Never start a campfire in areas with high fire danger or strong winds
- Use a screen above and around a campfire to minimize sparks
- Keep fires less than three feet high and wide
- Keep five gallons of water and a shovel nearby
- Never leave fires unattended
- Extinguish a fire by drowning it thoroughly with water, stirring until cold, and then drowning it again
- Report a wildfire or unattended campfire call at 800-562-6010, or call 911
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[...] Practice fire safety during the holiday weekendIssaquah PressBy Staff The state Department of Fish and Wildlife encourages outdoors enthusiasts to be careful with fire on wildfire-prone land during the Fourth of July … [...]