Community Environment Government Police & Fire
Dry weather induces early Pierce County burn ban
An unusually dry first five months sparked an early burn ban this year.
The Pierce County Fire Marshal, in partnership with the Pierce County Fire Chiefs’ Association, announced the ban Tuesday. It took effect at 8 a.m. today, June 7, until further notice because of current and predicted dry weather conditions.
It comes about two months earlier than last year. After one of the coldest springs on record, a burn ban for unincorporated Pierce County wasn’t enacted until Aug. 5. In 2021, burning was again prohibited early, on June 25. In 2020, it began on July 30.
One-third less rainfall than normal
Rainfall is more than 6 inches below average. Through Tuesday, 12.8 inches had fallen at Sea-Tac Airport. The normal amount is 19.11 inches. The National Weather Service predicts little to no precipitation through at least Tuesday, with high temperatures in the high 70s to low 80s.
A fire crew from Gig Harbor Fire & Medic One fights a brush fire in 2019 at Murphy Drive and East Bay Drive.
The exception will be today, with a high of 87 degrees forecast. The heat, combined with low humidity, prompted the weather service to issue a special weather statement for elevated fire weather. The advisory includes Gig Harbor and most of the Puget Sound region.
Special weather statement issued today
“Dry and unstable conditions are expected over much of the interior lowlands Wednesday,” it states. “Minimum relative humidity values are expected to range between 20 to 30 percent. While this does not meet critical fire weather thresholds, these conditions are rather unseasonable for June and will produce a favorable environment for fire starts and fire spreads, particularly in finer fuels such as brush and grass.”
Weather service meteorologist Jake DeFlitch said the yearlong dry period escalated in May, when Sea-Tac received just .93 inches of rain.
“Having these dry conditions as well as these hotter temperatures is leading to concerns of fire danger across the area,” he said.
Weather systems this year have tended to track farther to the south, delivering much-needed moisture to California but keeping Oregon and Washington drier than usual, DeFlitch said.
“If we don’t get much rainfall over the next few weeks it’ll be hard to catch up because we’re moving into the dry season once we get to July and August when we see little rainfall across the area,” he said.
Fire pits, barbecues permitted
The burn ban only applies to land clearing and yard debris in the unincorporated county. Small recreational fires in established fire pits are allowed, as are gas and propane stoves and barbecues.
The burn ban doesn’t affect fires in fire pits.
Recreational fires must:
- Be built in a metal or concrete fire pit, such as those typically found in designated campgrounds, and not used to burn garbage.
- Not be more than 3 feet wide.
- Be in a clear spot 10 feet away from any vegetation, 25 feet away from any structure and 20 feet from overhanging branches.
- Be attended at all times by a person with hand tools and a garden hose or buckets of water.
- Not be lit when winds exceed 5 mph.
Fireworks limited, but not by burn ban
The ban does not apply to setting off legal fireworks during the Independence Day holiday. Beginning this year, however, the shooting of fireworks is limited to July 4 in unincorporated Pierce County. It’s illegal to sell or use them at all within the Gig Harbor city limits.
“The burn ban is mostly talking about prohibiting the burning of yard trimmings and from land clearing,” said Pierce County Department of Emergency Management spokesman Mike Halliday. “You can still grill with charcoal or gas, use your fire pit in your backyard. We ask people to be safe about it, that the fire pit has a ring of some sort to keep it contained. It’s always a good measure to have a water supply to douse it so it doesn’t spark up in the middle of the night.
“It’s really important that people take those extra steps so we can all have an enjoyable summer.”
The burn ban doesn’t pertain to fireworks, though this year they are limited to July 4 in the county and aren’t allowed at all in the city. Photo courtesy of Ed Johnson
Halliday reminds people to always check with their local fire department to make sure there are no additional requirements in their community. That’s the case here.
Yard debris burning normally stops on June 16
Most years, county burn bans are moot in Gig Harbor Fire & Medic One’s jurisdiction. Several years ago it coordinated with the state Department of Natural Resources to establish a more predictable policy, said spokeswoman Tina Curran. Burn permits for yard debris are not granted from June 16 through Oct. 14. This year is the first time a county burn ban has occurred before that June 16 start.
Land-clearing burns are not allowed. The largest fire can be 4 feet by 4 feet. Burning of yard debris is never allowed within the Gig Harbor urban growth area.
“Our allowable burn period ends June 15,” said the department’s Melissa Herzog. “We normally would be sending everybody notices, but the Pierce County Fire Marshal’s Office trumps everything.”