August 4, 2016— 7:45 a.m.
WENATCHEE—Campfire restrictions go into effect on national forest lands in Chelan, Kittitas and Yakima Counties this week. Effective at 1 a.m. on August 5, campfires will be allowed only in established campgrounds and congressionally-designated Wilderness Areas. In all other areas, building, maintaining, attending or using a fire, campfire, or stove fire, including a fire made from briquettes, will be prohibited with certain exceptions. These restrictions are the result of increasing fire danger in national forest areas within these three counties.
Certain sites are exempt, such as group camps and summer homes under permit. Please visit or call the appropriate ranger station to obtain information on specific campground information and restrictions.
Most locales within the Glacier Peak, Chelan-Sawtooth, Alpine Lakes, Henry M. Jackson, Goat Rocks, Norse Peak, and William O. Douglas Wilderness Areas are also exempt. However, some locations within these Wilderness Areas have standing campfire restrictions. Please contact the appropriate ranger station for specific fire regulations pertaining to Wilderness Areas.
Persons using or maintaining pressurized liquid gas stoves or an enclosed solid fuel fire using a wick are also exempt from this campfire restriction.
Fire managers on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest remind hikers, campers and recreationists to be extremely careful with any use of fire in the outdoors this summer. Escaped campfires are the leading cause of human-caused wildland fires on the Okanogan-Wenatchee NF. Campfires typically become problems when campers fail to completely extinguish them before leaving campsites.
Contact these Okanogan-Wenatchee NF offices for more information: Chelan Ranger Station, 509-682-4900; Entiat Ranger Station, 509-784-4700; Wenatchee River Ranger Station, 509-548-2550; Cle Elum Ranger Station 509-852-1100; and Naches Ranger Station, 509-653-1401.