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Above: A few rain showers are not enough
to make burning a debris pile safe yet.
Wait for soaking rains to end fire season,
usually sometime in mid to late October.
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Autumn doesn’t officially arrive until later this week, but fall-like rains are already bringing relief to firefighters who’ve faced persistent wildfires on both sides of the Cascades. The rains and accompanying cooler temperatures helped firefighters check the spread of most large existing fires, about 10 of which reported no new growth yesterday.
Cooler weather, however, does not signal the end of fire season. Fuels which have had all summer to dry out will only be superficially wet by the current showers. When the rain stops near the end of this week, we could see dry east winds. Within hours, dead grass, fallen leaves and downed wood can dry out and be able to burn.
Until fire season is officially declared over, debris burning remains prohibited in most areas. Firefighters have recently had to respond to a number of fires caused by people burning backyard debris piles.
As temperatures drop, the temptation to build a campfire also increases. Fire wardens are discovering and dousing abandoned campfires, which are only allowed in approved, designated campgrounds. Check with your local ODF or forest protective association for details.
While fire restrictions have been eased in several areas, fire managers continue to ask everyone to heed caution when working or recreating outdoors. To find the latest information on restrictions on ODF-protected lands, go to