THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE FROM SHERIFF MARK BROWN REGARDING THE REDUCTION OF THE BURN BAN RESTRICTIONS:

Effectively immediately, I am reducing the Burn Ban Restriction in Island County from Type II to Type I.

As outlined in County Ordinance 14.03B, there is still a ban on outdoor burning in unincorporated Island County; however the current change in status does allow for recreational fires (which were previously banned).

Recreational Fires are cooking fires, campfires, and bonfires using charcoal or firewood that occur in designated areas or on private property for cooking, pleasure, or ceremonial purposes:

• Fire must be in an enclosure that is a minimum of 16 inches high, no wider than three feet across, and made of cement block, stones, or #10 gauge steel.
• Burned material must be kept lower than the sidewalls of the enclosure.
• The following must be in the immediate vicinity of the enclosure and present at all times during burning: A charged garden hose; or two, five-gallon buckets of water; or a five-gallon Class-A fire extinguisher and a shovel.
• Fires must be 10 feet from any standing timber or combustibles and there must be no tree branches within 10 feet above the enclosure.
• There must be at least one person 16 years of age or older, in attendance at all times, who is capable of putting the fire out.

Outdoor burning requiring a permit and fires used for debris disposal purposes are NOT considered recreational fires, and as such are still under Burn Ban Restrictions.