Fire Season Begins July 5 In North Cascade District, Officials Say

SANTIAM, OR — The Oregon Department of Forestry on Wednesday announced July 5 as the official start date for 2017 fire season in Oregon's North Cascade District.

The Department of Forestry (ODF) implements burning restrictions during the drier summer months to protect private and state forestland, as well as Bureau of Land Management properties in eastern Clackamas, Marion, and Multnomah counties, officials said in a statement. The restrictions apply to all ODF-protected lands and forestland within one-eighth of a mile of those lands, officials said.

"It's important that people realize that despite the wet winter and spring, our forests are drying out," West Oregon District Forester Steve Wilson said in the statement. "As is typical for July, rising temperatures are melting snow at higher elevations and drying out lower-elevation forests. This increases the risk of wildfires, the majority of which are caused by human carelessness."

Restrictions include:

• Tracer ammunition;
• Exploding targets;
• Fireworks;
• Open fires, expect at designated locations; and
• Smoking while traveling, except in vehicles on improved roads, in boats on water, or on sand or gravel bars located between water and high-water marks free of vegetation.

Industrial Fire Precaution Levels are set at '1', officials said, noting the requirement for all industrial forest operators to keep and maintain firefighting equipment on-site.

For more details, visit the official ODF website.

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