News Release

Campfire Restrictions Begin August 11 for Olympic National Park and Olympic National Forest

Date: August 11, 2022
Contact: Meagan Huff, Olympic National Park
Contact: Corina Rendon, Olympic National Forest

Port Angeles, WA—Beginning at midnight Monday August 10, Olympic National Park and Olympic National Forest implemented a campfire restriction that will only allow campfires in metal rings at designated site, campgrounds or picnic areas. This includes the coastal areas of Olympic National Park. Gas or propane camp stoves may still be used in the wilderness backcountry and campgrounds, but should be operated well away from flammable vegetation and forest litter. Extreme caution is urged with any open flame.

This move to Phase 1 fire restrictions is due to the extremely dry conditions that are forecasted to continue; the need to align with state and county campfire restrictions; the current commitment of firefighting resources battling numerous wildfires around the nation; and the strain any new uncontrolled fires would place on these resources. Both the Northwest region and the nation remain at a Preparedness Level 3 (PL-3). The majority of firefighting resources are already deployed due to the large amount of wildland fire activity throughout the country.

Prior to the recent heatwave, precipitation levels were already below average this year elevating wildfire risk across the western side of Washington state. The recent record-breaking temperatures felt across the Pacific Northwest have resulted in more rapid drying, quickly elevating the fire danger across the state to a level not typically seen at this time of year. The safety of our firefighters and the public are top priority.

The public is urged to be aware of the high fire danger and take precautions to ensure fire safety. Visitors to public lands should always use caution to prevent human-caused wildfires. To reduce the risk, please consider the following:

· Fireworks are always prohibited on federal public lands.

· Before going camping, learn of any new restrictions that may be in place.

· If smoking, always dispose of cigarette debris in some type of an ashtray.

To report a fire dial 911.

National Interagency Fire Center: https://www.nifc.gov/
Active Fire Information - Incident Information System: inciweb.nwcg.gov/
Olympic National Park information: www.nps.gov/olym/
Olympic National Forest information: www.fs.usda.gov/olympic
State and county area burn bans: www.waburnbans.net