No fires, charcoal, barbecues in unincorporated Thurston County until Saturday

A ban on recreational fires in unincorporated Thurston County has been declared from 2 p.m. Thursday to 8 a.m. Saturday.

All outdoor burning — including campfires, bonfires, fire pits and the use of charcoal briquettes — is prohibited. Liquid gas or propane camp stoves that do not use solid briquettes and have on/off controls are permitted, the Thurston County fire marshal said.

Thurston County has been experiencing a high number of smoke investigations and respiratory emergency responses, and residents are being cautioned that the combination of extremely hot temperatures and dry conditions make it unsafe to spark fires at this time. The dry conditions also increase the risk that fires can spread quickly.

On Aug. 17, Public Lands Commissioner Peter Goldmark expanded a burn ban to prohibit fires on all forest lands under the Department of Natural Resources fire protection. The amended burn ban now prohibits all outdoor burning including camp fires and the use of charcoal briquettes on all state lands until Sept. 30.

This story was originally published August 25, 2016 at 2:58 PM with the headline "No fires, charcoal, barbecues in unincorporated Thurston County until Saturday."