Clark County Fire Marshal issues burn ban beginning Friday

With an extended heat wave forecast for the weekend, the Clark County Fire Marshal’s Office has issued an early burn ban for the season, beginning at 12:01 a.m. Friday.

All land clearing and residential burning will be restricted countywide until Sept. 30, or until further notice. Burning permits issued before the ban will be rescinded; they can be reissued or extended when the ban is lifted, according to a county news release.

Recreational campfires are still allowed, and the burning restrictions don’t apply to federally managed lands, the news release states.

Clark County Fire Marshal Dan Young said the burn ban was put in place “out of (an) abundance of caution,” and along with the Department of Natural Resources and Cowlitz, Lewis, Pacific, Skamania and Wahkiakum counties.

Clark, Cowlitz and Skamania counties jointly issue a burn ban from July 15 through Sept. 30 each year. But under certain conditions, the ban can begin sooner or end later, according to the news release.

For more information, contact the fire marshal’s office at 564-397-2186 or visit the county’s website at www.clark.wa.gov/development/fire/burning.html, which outlines regulations for recreational campfires.