Despite cooler overnight
temperatures, fire can still pose a danger in Oregon. This was demonstrated Monday evening when firefighters from the
Douglas Forest Protective Association and Camas Valley Rural Fire Department
responded to a grass fire about 1.5 miles northeast of Camas Valley in Douglas County. Crews arrived on scene of the Camas Mountain
Fire and attacked the blaze, which was burning through grass at a moderate rate
of spread. Firefighters stopped the Camas Mountain Fire at 3/4 of an acre
and remained on scene for about an hour, mopping up hot spots and securing
control lines.
Fire officials determined
that the Camas Mountain Fire was caused by hot ashes from a wood stove being
dumped in dry grass. While there are no restrictions on using wood stoves
insides homes, it is important that the ashes are disposed of properly so they
don’t start a wildfire. Ash from a fireplace or wood stove can retain
enough heat to ignite other combustible material for several days after a
fire.
When cleaning ash from a fireplace or wood stove, follow these
tips:
- Treat all ashes as hot!
- Never put hot ash into a
paper or plastic bag, cardboard box or other similar container. The
only type of container suitable for ash storage is a metal or ceramic container with
a tight-fitting lid. - Spray water on the ash
prior to attaching the metal lid to the container and allow them to
completely cool outside, away from your home. - Never store a metal ash container (with ashes in them) on a deck, in a garage, or in any location that may allow heat to transfer
from the hot coals to nearby flammable items. - Once the ash has
completely cooled, only dump them in areas free of flammable
vegetation. - As an additional precaution, have a garden hose and
shovel on site when you dump the ash so you can spray water and mix the
ash to ensure they are completely out.