Officials Warn Against Outdoor Burning Amid Wildfire Threat

OLYMPIA (AP) — Officials are urging people across Washington state to refrain from having any campfires or setting off fireworks as hot, breezy weather poses a severe risk of wildfires.

Public Lands Commissioner Peter Goldmark on Wednesday expanded a statewide fire ban to prohibit all outdoor burning — including campfires in fire pits and the use of charcoal briquettes — on state forests and parks protected by the Department of Natural Resources. Goldmark says the greatest fire danger right now comes from carelessness.

The National Weather Service is issuing similar warnings, asking people not to burn anything outside, not to toss burning materials from vehicles and not to use fireworks.

This fire season has been mild so far, with 527 fires burning less than 3,400 acres. State officials say that at this point last year, there had been 803 fires burning 320,000 acres.