FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Air Quality Burn Ban Ends in Skagit; Modified Burn Ban Remains in Effect
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Effective October 21, 2022, at 10:00 a.m., the Northwest Clean Air Agency (NWCAA) is ending the Stage 2 air quality burn ban for Skagit, Island, and Whatcom counties. The air quality burn ban is being lifted because levels of fine particles from wildfire smoke are dropping throughout the region due to changing weather conditions, including rain and wind.
NWCAA?s air quality burn ban was in addition to Skagit County?s current modified burn ban, which remains in effect. Under the current Modified Burn Ban, all residential and land clearing fires in unincorporated Skagit County are not permissible.
Recreational and cooking fires, limited to three feet in diameter and two feet high remain allowed in unincorporated Skagit County within enclosures and when safety precautions are followed. Recreational or cooking fires can consist only of charcoal, seasoned firewood, or propane-fueled firepits and must meet the following requirements:
- Enclosures must be AT LEAST 14 inches high, no wider than three feet, and made of cement blocks, stones, or #10-gauge steel.
- Burned material must be kept BELOW the top of the enclosure.
- ALWAYS have a charged garden hose OR two 5-gallon buckets of water OR a 5-gallon Class A fire extinguisher and shovel present.
- Fires MUST BE 15 feet away from combustibles, standing timber, or overhanging tree.
- Someone 16 years old or older must ALWAYS be present to monitor and/or extinguish the fire.
If you are within the city limits of any of the incorporated cities or towns, check with your city fire department for current burning restrictions.
This ban does not pertain to agricultural burning permitted through the Northwest Clean Air Agency or silvicultural burning permitted through Washington State Department of Natural Resources. For information on active permits, contact those agencies directly.
Additional information about open burning in Skagit County is available at www.skagitcounty.net/firemarshal or by calling the Skagit County Fire Marshal?s Office at (360) 416-1840.
For more information:
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