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Ski
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Ski
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 Thu Aug 31, 2017 7:48 pm |
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Thursday, August 31, 2017 12:26 PDT
Olympic National Park & Olympic National Forest News Release
Campfire Restrictions Begin in Olympic National Park & Olympic National Forest September 1
Beginning September 1, Olympic National Park and Olympic National Forest will restrict campfires to developed campgrounds and picnic areas only until further notice.
Olympic Peninsula federal land managers are instituting fire restrictions due to the long-term forecast for hot and dry weather, the current commitment of firefighting resources battling numerous wildfires around the nation, and the strain any new uncontrolled fires would place on these resources.
“With the high fire danger and staff already committed to suppressing fires across the country, we are enacting this fire restriction to conserve our firefighting resources and to help prevent additional fires,” said Olympic National Park Acting Superintendent Lee Taylor.
Gas camp stoves may still be used in Olympic National Park’s wilderness backcountry, but should be operated well away from flammable vegetation and forest litter. Taylor urges extreme caution with any open flame.
Visitors to national parks and forests should always use caution to prevent human-caused wildfires. To reduce the risk, please consider the following:
· Fireworks are prohibited on federal public lands.
· Before going camping, learn of any fire restrictions in place and never leave a campfire unattended.
· If smoking, always dispose of cigarette debris in some type of an ashtray.
To report a fire dial 911.
Active Fire Information- Incident Information System: http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/
Olympic National Park information: www.nps.gov/olym/
Olympic National Forest information: http://www.fs.usda.gov/olympic
State and county area burn bans: www.waburnbans.net
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"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
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mbravenboer
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Joined: 20 Oct 2013
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Location: Seattle |
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grannyhiker
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Joined: 29 Jul 2006
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Location: Gateway to the Columbia Gorge |
East side of Oregon Cascades (Deschutes NF): No fires at all, even in campground fire rings. This started back in August.
May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view.--E.Abbey
May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view.--E.Abbey
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CarriesNineFires
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Joined: 03 Oct 2016
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Man, they really wait until the last moment to ban fires. It seems like they are unreasonably beholden to some mandate to provide maximum recreational comfort to their guests.
Where is the mandate to protect the resources? Why is the campfire so sacrosanct?
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RumiDude
Marmota olympus
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RumiDude
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Thu Aug 31, 2017 9:02 pm |
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Their reasoning, if you can call it that, has never been convincing to me. And it confuses people when ONP allows fires and they are banned everywhere else. They should get on with a working relationship with the state and have uniform bans. I guess cooperation with other agencies is too much to ask.
Rumi
"This is my Indian summer ... I'm far more dangerous now, because I don't care at all."
"This is my Indian summer ... I'm far more dangerous now, because I don't care at all."
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RumiDude
Marmota olympus
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RumiDude
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Thu Aug 31, 2017 9:13 pm |
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"This is my Indian summer ... I'm far more dangerous now, because I don't care at all."
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Ski
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Ski
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Thu Aug 31, 2017 9:19 pm |
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Fire left smoldering by campers at Lower Crossing Trail Junction campsite September 9, 2014. (4.2 miles from trailhead. Approximately 26 miles from nearest pay phone. No cell phone service in the area.)
"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
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RodF
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Location: Sequim WA |
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RodF
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Thu Aug 31, 2017 11:46 pm |
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| RumiDude wrote: | | They should get on with a working relationship with the state and have uniform bans. I guess cooperation with other agencies is too much to ask. |
This is precisely what's happening. DNR raised fire danger rating to High and its Industrial Fire Precaution Level to Level 2 on the Olympic Peninsula, and all three agencies (DNR, USFS and NPS) announced simultaneous campfire bans starting 9/1/17.
I've check the Industrial Fire Precaution Level (it affects chainsaw use on USFS trails) and was surprised this year how early it rose east of the Cascade crest, and how late it remained low here in the Olympics. But that was due to the weather patterns this year.
In other years, Olympic NP hasn't needed to declare fire bans when Olympic NF does. Olympic NF has contains of the driest, warmest, low-elevation, rain shadow areas of the NE Olympics, where fire danger is typically higher earlier in the season than at higher elevations within the park. Olympic NF historically suffers far more human-caused fires than the park.
"of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt" - John Muir
"the wild is not the opposite of cultivated. It is the opposite of the captivated” - Vandana Shiva
"of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt" - John Muir
"the wild is not the opposite of cultivated. It is the opposite of the captivated” - Vandana Shiva
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RumiDude
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RumiDude
Marmota olympus
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Fri Sep 01, 2017 9:59 am |
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| RodF wrote: | | RumiDude wrote: | | They should get on with a working relationship with the state and have uniform bans. I guess cooperation with other agencies is too much to ask. |
This is precisely what's happening. |
| RodF wrote: | | In other years, Olympic NP hasn't needed to declare fire bans when Olympic NF does. Olympic NF has contains of the driest, warmest, low-elevation, rain shadow areas of the NE Olympics, where fire danger is typically higher earlier in the season than at higher elevations within the park. Olympic NF historically suffers far more human-caused fires than the park. |
OK, maybe what I think needs to be done is to simplify the whole matter of burn bans. I can assure you that it IS confusing to drive all over the Olympic Peninsula and see burn ban signs and yet fires are still allowed in ONP. I know this is a fact from talking with many long-time residents who get confused about that stuff.
That is why ONP and the other agencies need to get together and SIMPLIFY it for the sake of the average user. If there is a burn ban on the OP, then it should be a uniform ban. The agencies may understand fire conditions but they don't understand people.
Rumi
"This is my Indian summer ... I'm far more dangerous now, because I don't care at all."
"This is my Indian summer ... I'm far more dangerous now, because I don't care at all."
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RodF
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RodF
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Fri Sep 01, 2017 3:47 pm |
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| Rumi wrote: | | If there is a burn ban on the OP, then it should be a uniform ban. |
Where should we draw the line? Clallam & Jefferson Co. burn ban started July 1, Grays Harbor Co. July 14, Mason July 15, Thurston Aug. 2. Kitsap imposed a burn ban Aug. 8 (smoke from BC wildfires) and lifted it Aug. 11 . MRNP has none now (even though Chinook Pass is closed due to Norse Peak fires). Do any of these mean a campfire up in Dose Meadows, Grand Valley or Enchanted Valley was unsafe when there were still snowbanks all around?
"of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt" - John Muir
"the wild is not the opposite of cultivated. It is the opposite of the captivated” - Vandana Shiva
"of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt" - John Muir
"the wild is not the opposite of cultivated. It is the opposite of the captivated” - Vandana Shiva
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RumiDude
Marmota olympus
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RumiDude
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Fri Sep 01, 2017 8:46 pm |
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| RodF wrote: | | Where should we draw the line? |
It needs to make sense to people or it loses its impact on their behavior. And that is part of the problem with how they draw the line now.
Let me compare this to the policy of bear canisters. One of the reasons the policy for bear canisters is so effective on the coast is that the entire coast is under the same regulations. There are no exceptions on the coast that I am aware of, you have to have a bear can (or approved hard sided container). And for the most part, people conform to the bear can requirement on the coast. Contrast that with the regulations in the rest of the park. Some areas you have to have it regardless and other areas you don't. Because of that, the compliance to the food storage regulations is spotty in the rest of ONP outside of the coast.
I spent many years in the business if trying to change the behavior of people. I know squat about figuring the moisture levels in the forest as it pertains to fire danger, but I know a bit about people and how to get compliance. In my humble opinion, the way the fire bans are done on the OP and in particular ONP, are confusing and counter productive.
Rumi
"This is my Indian summer ... I'm far more dangerous now, because I don't care at all."
"This is my Indian summer ... I'm far more dangerous now, because I don't care at all."
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Secret Agent Man
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Joined: 24 Dec 2015
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Does an ONP burn ban also apply to car campers at Kalaloch or other major camping areas? I'm not surprised administrators would be loathe to ban campfires at those relatively controlled and very popular areas.
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markh752
Snoozing on a rock!
Joined: 03 Dec 2011
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markh752
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Fri Sep 01, 2017 11:07 pm |
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| RodF wrote: | | Rumi wrote: | | If there is a burn ban on the OP, then it should be a uniform ban. |
Where should we draw the line? Clallam & Jefferson Co. burn ban started July 1, Grays Harbor Co. July 14, Mason July 15, Thurston Aug. 2. Kitsap imposed a burn ban Aug. 8 (smoke from BC wildfires) and lifted it Aug. 11 . MRNP has none now (even though Chinook Pass is closed due to Norse Peak fires). Do any of these mean a campfire up in Dose Meadows, Grand Valley or Enchanted Valley was unsafe when there were still snowbanks all around? |
Excellent point Rod.
The state issued a burn ban a while ago that included bbq briquette's. Later, the county I live in issued a burn ban that included bbq briquette's. But I live in a city that does not have a burn ban on bbq briquette's. My family had some yummy hamburgers that were legally cooked over bbq briquette's last weekend (in the city) despite whatever national, state or county restrictions were in place.
One size does not fit all!
*note that my bbq is placed over a large segment of rocks. AND I do not like the taste of a propane bbq'ed rib steak.
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Ski
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Ski
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Fri Sep 01, 2017 11:23 pm |
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| RumiDude wrote: | | It needs to make sense to people or it loses its impact on their behavior. |
True. Currently the fire bans do not make sense, because they're all over the place from area to area. Fire is okay over here, but not over there. No open fires on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, but fires are okay on the Naches District. (Hey, guess where the fires are burning this week on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest?  )
"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
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RodF
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Posts: 2593 | TRs | Pics
Location: Sequim WA |
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RodF
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Sat Sep 02, 2017 9:43 am |
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| RumiDude wrote: | | It needs to make sense to people or it loses its impact on their behavior. |
I completely agree. Soil moisture near Sequim (16" rain/yr) has no bearing on soil moisture in Forks (121"/yr). And being near sea level, neither have much bearing on soil moisture at cooler 3000' elevation up the Hoh or Quinault (200"/yr with snowbanks lingering through July).
A single peninsula-wide burn ban would make no sense to people, so they'd ignore it most of the time.
| RumiDude wrote: | | And for the most part, people conform to the bear can requirement on the coast. Contrast that with the regulations in the rest of the park. Some areas you have to have it regardless and other areas you don't. Because of that, the compliance to the food storage regulations is spotty in the rest of ONP outside of the coast. |
Please realize bear wires are available at this list of 54 backcountry campsites in the Park, and a line can be tossed into any tree. It's perfectly OK to hang food bags rather than lug a bear can around.
However, the draft Wilderness Stewardship Plan proposes "Bear canisters would be required parkwide." even for midwinter skiers who will never see a bear out of hibernation, and Ursacks haven't been approved.
Simplistic blanket rules that don't make sense (be it burn bans or bear cans) are problematic. But they sure are appealing! That's precisely why immigration reform appears insoluble...  My bad, no politics, but it's true of both sides.
"of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt" - John Muir
"the wild is not the opposite of cultivated. It is the opposite of the captivated” - Vandana Shiva
"of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt" - John Muir
"the wild is not the opposite of cultivated. It is the opposite of the captivated” - Vandana Shiva
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