Advisory: Rule debris burns & permit burns allowed Wed at 12:01 am in P.O. County. Call 447-1980 if you will be burning.

The Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has announced that the fire danger rating has been decreased to a “Low” level in North and “Moderate” in Mid/South Pend Oreille County as of Wednesday September 18, 2019 at 00:01.

Rule burns are allowed for forest debris (individual pile size is limited to [four] feet). For burn piles that do not meet the requirements of a Rule Burn, a Burn Permit is needed from DNR.

Please notify the Pend Oreille County Sheriff’s Office the day of your burn by calling 509-447-1980.

Residents are reminded of the following burning guidelines from the Washington State Department of Ecology:

  • Burning in a burn barrel is illegal everywhere in Washington!
  • You can burn only natural vegetation.
  • If smoke from your fire affects your neighbor, you must put out your fire.
  • Burning is not the only way to get rid of natural vegetation. Consider composting & chipping. See www.ecy.wa.gov/BreatheTheDifference for more information.
  • Where burning is allowed, your burn pile must be less than [four feet] across and you may burn only one pile at a time.
  • Do not leave your fire unattended.
  • No residential fires are allowed within 500 feet of forest slash.
  • If you see someone you think is burning illegally, or if the smoke from someone’s fire is bothering you, call Ecology’s toll-free complaint line at 1-866-211-6284.
  • No fires are allowed within 50 feet of structures.
  • You can’t burn materials hauled from another property in your fire.
  • No outdoor fires are allowed when air pollution levels are unhealthy.

Ref: https://local.nixle.com/alert/7536010/?sub_id=3229083

What is a Rule Burn? It is the rules everyone must follow to burn outside without a permit. Rule debris burns are explained on DNR’s Outdoor Burning Brochure.