Last year, more than 32,800 acres of Department of Natural Resource-protected lands went up in smoke in a series of 815 different wildfires. Of them, 90%
were caused by humans. The DNR warns that while we may be having a soggy April and the snowpack is up, conditions can change rapidly during the summer
months.
“Whether fire season is delayed or not, Washington’s forests always face the threat of wildfire,” said Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz. “We’re
preparing now to be ready for fire season before the weather heats up, and I encourage all our neighbors to do the same.”
The rules are in place to prevent forest fires, and also to extinguish small fires before they can turn into big ones.
“These regulations affect loggers, firewood cutters, land clearers, road builders, heavy equipment operators, off-road motorcyclists, and others. During
fire season, people using motorized equipment in the woods must have approved spark arresters and follow fire safety precautions. In addition,
those working in the woods must have fire prevention and extinguishing equipment in good working order at the job site and workers trained in proper
use.”
For private homeowners, DNR encourages participation in the Firewise program. Learn more about that here: Firewise.
