06/26/2025
Burn ban goes into effect on July 1st at 12:01 am.
Kittitas County Burn Ban and Fireworks Ban takes effect July 1, 2025
A burn ban and fireworks ban has been issued for unincorporated Kittitas County beginning at 00:01 AM on July 1, 2025. The burn ban prohibits open burning, also known as pile or debris burning. Open burning includes any ignition or burning of any combustible material outdoors. This includes garbage, leaves, grass, twigs, branches, litter, paper, vegetative matter, and other debris. The ignition or discharge of any fireworks in the unincorporated county is prohibited during this ban, including on July 4.
The use of propane or gas stoves, or of charcoal briquette grills or smokers, is not prohibited. Campfires are allowed in approved fire rings in officially designated campgrounds only. Users must exercise extreme caution disposing of burnt charcoal and make sure campfires are completely extinguished before leaving them unattended.
The Kittitas County Fire Marshal determines the need and timing of a burn ban using objective standards approved by community stakeholders. They include the moisture level of wildfire fuels; formulas estimating the potential intensity of a wildfire; fire-related weather forecasts; and the presence or depletion of firefighting resources in the county. Together, these factors project an extreme risk of wildfire starting in the first week of July.
Kittitas County recognizes fire as a tool with important and legitimate uses in our community: recreational uses, agricultural uses, and controlled burns that are a critical part of wildfire prevention and mitigation. The Fire Marshal issues restrictions only when objectively necessary to mitigate the risk of wildfires. None of this year’s most significant wildfires in our county so far would have been prevented by a burn ban.
As with any tool, those who use fire must do so responsibly, including between now and the beginning of this ban. Burn only in a clear, fuel-free area; be prepared to extinguish the fire if necessary; don’t burn garbage; never leave a fire unattended; and don’t burn when sustained winds are over 10 miles per hour.
For questions about burning on Department of Natural Resources land, please contact DNR at 509-925-8510. For questions on Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife lands please call 360-902-2515. For question on U.S. Forest Service lands please call 509-852-1100.
The Fire Marshal’s Office will continue to monitor current conditions and modify the burn ban as necessary.
