Governor issues emergency burn ban in every county
OLYMPIA, Wash. - Gov. Chris Gregoire issued an emergency proclamation Sunday enacting a sweeping outdoor burn ban for every county in Washington state through the middle of the month.
“Washington state is experiencing a weather pattern like one we’ve rarely seen before,” Gregoire said. “The long, warm and dry spell has elevated fire danger across our state. Given that we don’t expect a significant amount of rainfall for quite some time, it makes sense to extend this proclamation and expand the burn ban."
No significant rainfall has fallen in the Seattle area since July 23. The dry streak sets new records daily the longer it continues, and no rain is in the forecast until Friday at the soonest.
The state Department of Natural Resources said Friday that critical weather conditions like these are "not seen in a lifetime."
"Extraordinary dry conditions across our state require that all Washingtonians exercise the utmost caution and allow fire crews to focus on the challenges at hand," Gregoire said.
The burn ban prohibits all outdoor burning, including but not limited to campfires, bonfires, fireworks, residential yard debris clean-up, trash disposal, land clearing, weed abatement and agricultural burning.
Liquid fueled or gas-fueled stoves are permitted provided that use is conducted over a non-flammable surface and is at least five feet from flammable vegetation. Charcoal grills are permitted at private residences under the same conditions.
The burn ban remains in effect through Oct. 15.
The governor's proclamation directs state agencies and departments to continue to use state resources and to do everything reasonably possible to assist local jurisdictions respond to and recover from fires.
“Washington state is experiencing a weather pattern like one we’ve rarely seen before,” Gregoire said. “The long, warm and dry spell has elevated fire danger across our state. Given that we don’t expect a significant amount of rainfall for quite some time, it makes sense to extend this proclamation and expand the burn ban."
No significant rainfall has fallen in the Seattle area since July 23. The dry streak sets new records daily the longer it continues, and no rain is in the forecast until Friday at the soonest.
The state Department of Natural Resources said Friday that critical weather conditions like these are "not seen in a lifetime."
"Extraordinary dry conditions across our state require that all Washingtonians exercise the utmost caution and allow fire crews to focus on the challenges at hand," Gregoire said.
The burn ban prohibits all outdoor burning, including but not limited to campfires, bonfires, fireworks, residential yard debris clean-up, trash disposal, land clearing, weed abatement and agricultural burning.
Liquid fueled or gas-fueled stoves are permitted provided that use is conducted over a non-flammable surface and is at least five feet from flammable vegetation. Charcoal grills are permitted at private residences under the same conditions.
The burn ban remains in effect through Oct. 15.
The governor's proclamation directs state agencies and departments to continue to use state resources and to do everything reasonably possible to assist local jurisdictions respond to and recover from fires.
Governor Chris Gregoire catches hell no matter what she does. Extending the burn ban across all counties for the foreseeable future is the exact right thing to do. Thanks Governor .
Her last (I hope) dictatorial declaration............ I cannot wait until January when that wicked witch is out of office!
Oh you mean she's not on another junket sucking every last dime she can out of the taxpayers?
Sorry Gov.... But a burn ban won't keep idiots from tossing cig butts out their car Windows or stupid drunks from driving on the shoulder of the freeway on what was left of his rotor shooting sparks everywhere... Thank God that dip for brains didn't start a fire or hurt any one but drive I-5 and you can see butting evidence of the other. Just sayin.......
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 @Tolly371 Spoken like a true "conservative": today's Republicans all seem to want to BURN EVERYTHING.
 @JLS1950  @Tolly371 Thumb's down to you-- what a crummy comment.
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 @WA State Mom Wake up and look around. Watch. See the flames despite the smoke.
 @Tolly371 Nice to see that you perceive a state-wide fire ban to be a waste of money under the conditions we are experiencing.
 @Tolly371 stay classy, Tolly371⦠stay classy. :::shakes head sadly:::
Great picture of the governor.
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My mother used to look like that just before giving me a good swat or getting out the belt.
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I hope they use this as her official picture in the state capitol.
 @A.V. How many of those swats did you not fully deserve?
Weird... I already thought there was a burn ban statewide....
 @Funky-Munky the article does mention she's "extending" it.
The look on that face of that should stop a fire in a second.Â
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Hey, nappy haired Chris, Â I am happy to see you so proactive on our dry conditions, Uh du, Â but not nearly as happy to see you gone from the political seen in the seen from Washington state politics.Â
 @Tolly371 Tolly will maybe sing a different tune when he's battled cancer personally himself... maybe he has forgotten...
 @Tolly371 Oh wait, you posted again later. So you're just a troll.
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Someone must of whispered in her ear about the lack of rain lately..
The weather is controlled by God. Could it be that perhaps He is trying to tell us something?
 @Anselm Did you forget to book a flight to Jerusalem for Succoth AGAIN???
 @Anselm I think he's trying to tell you to chill... sheesh
@Anselm Could it be global warming? Hmmmmmmm.....
Hey Gov! Tell your law enforcement agencies to start writing some of those $1,000 fines for littering with a lit cigarette, and then report it in the news daily.
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Get these dorks who start these roadside grass fires attention!
KOMO please, you do not have to show a picture of the gargoyle every time she opens her mouth. For this story you could have shown a picture of a burning garbage dump or almost anything more pleasant than looking at her ugly mug.
 @oldster70 I'm so reassured that you value the governor's beauty (or lack thereof) over public safety.
 @oldster70 That made me literally 'lol' =P Sadly, only because I see the resemblance!!Â
What a leader........................................................
 @grog Hahahaha... I know, amazing isn't she.
A little hasty? Â Hey, Chris: Â Wildfires have been raging in Eastern WA for at least a month and some counties have had burn bans in effect for a while now. Â
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Thanks for going away. Â
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 @Opus8no5 Do you understand she's "extending" the ban? Not starting it.
@Opus8no5 Good Grief! Don't you pay attention?
Why does our Governor always look so mad?
 @Rod WOW!! Try a little humor, and your comment gets deleted. Hope you saw it.
 @Rod If YOU failed miserably at YOUR job, couldn't balance a budget, and could stare a hole through Titanium Steel with that........look..........YOU'D be mad too.
 @Wolfen Too bad she cannot use that look to drill a 4-inch hole through Tim I'm-an-idiot's smirk!
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 @raydawg ...what the heck are you even talking about...
"The governor's proclamation directs state agencies and departments to continue to use state resources and to do everything reasonably possible to assist local jurisdictions respond to and recover from fires."
Double triple overtime for everyone!
And not a single job created.
Sigh . . .
 @Jon H Right! Don't do squat unless is it "creates jobs"!
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I think your nose might be missing a face...
 @Jon H What would you rather they do?
Well considering he already had the big one near Cle Elum, the other big one near Wenatchee, and the current one behind Rainbow Lake, nice to know she's not wasting her time doing something the fire departments have probably already done in their areas. Good God, is she for real? I'm guessing she's trying to regain some face time that she lost in the governor's race.
 @Zoso She is........ Government in a nutshell.
 @brewzbrothers  @Zoso as opposed to a small vocal segment of our citizenry who are just plain "nuts"?
 @Zoso The fire departments don't have the authority to issue burn bans. She's simply doing her job. What would you rather she do, tell everyone it's okay to start even more wildfires that cost even more state money to fight?
 @KieferSkunk  @Zoso Gregoire could save a baby from drowning or save a man by giving him CPR and people would still whine and complain about her. These guys would never admit that she did something good.
 @TruthinAdverts Yeah I got that. Dude, you need to chill. With those fireworks you're putting out, that alone may start another fire. ;)
 @Zoso it's an EXTENSION, not an initiation. How can you not understand that? As for what "burn bans" do... they put teeth (as in fines) into those who burn illegally. That's like saying "people will still commit murder, so why prosecute it?" Dear heavens... where do you people come from???
 @timdog It would have been good if she issued it like a month ago when we already had these dry conditions, especially since we've technically already been under a burn ban. And besides that, is this ban really gonna do anything? If people wanna burn, they are gonna burn regardless. It won't really make a difference.
 @KieferSkunk  @Zoso these guys will whine and complain no matter what... It's what they do well
 @Zoso  @TruthinAdverts  @KieferSkunk I'd "expect" you to actually "read" an article before assuming what it said. I'd expect you to understand the difference between "extending" and "starting" a burn ban. Clearly it's too much to ask for intelligent discussion out of a small but ridiculously vocal teabag faction of our populace.Â
 @TruthinAdverts @KieferSkunk Considering how much she has screwed up this state to the point that we're all basically paying for all her mistakes, what would you expect? Hugs and kisses?
Well at least she didn't get in a hurry