Burn ban eased in Thurston County

Fire safety restrictions have been lifted in Thurston County after the Washington State Department of Natural Resources lowered the regional fire danger to low from moderate.

The adjustment reinstated the Olympic Region Clean Air Agency's (ORCAA) authority to reopen residential yard waste and land clearing burn permits. 

The revision followed a summer-long wildfire restriction that suspended outdoor burning under DNR’s “high” fire risk classification. The action on Friday, Oct. 10, restored ORCAA’s Land Clearing Burn Permit system after prolonged dry conditions in Western Washington. 

At present, ORCAA policy permits burning only of natural vegetation gathered on the same property. Combustion of garbage, construction scraps or milled lumber is prohibited under state law; burn barrels remain unlawful. 

The agency said in the Thurston County and Grays Harbor Fire District 12/McCleary, a free self-issuing permit must be secured before any ignition. 

ORCAA advised the public that permission to burn should not replace cleaner waste disposal methods.

“Just because you can burn yard waste doesn’t mean you should,” the agency said in an announcement about the burn ban. 

Open burning in Thurston County cities and urban growth areas remains banned under “no burn” designations. Violations under the Washington Clean Air Act may result in penalties.

ORCAA is also aiming to curb autumn air pollution through the return of its Wood Smoke Reduction Program by late October. 

The program, funded through a Washington State Department of Ecology grant, provides financial incentives for households replacing uncertified wood stoves with cleaner heating systems, such as heat pumps, pellet stoves or gas heaters. 

To check air quality,  the public may refer to the ORCAA’s air-monitoring dashboard and to the Environmental Protection Agency’s AirNow Fire and Smoke Map.