Due to the unprecedented fire incidents in Oregon and Washington along with the need to align with state and county campfire restrictions and reduce smoke emissions in already poor air quality conditions, the Olympic National Forest and Olympic National Park will implement a complete ban on all campfires, including charcoal, as of 12:00 pm Friday, September 11, 2020. This closure will be in effect until it is rescinded. These restrictions do not apply to gas or propane stoves.
Gas or propane camp stoves may still be used in the wilderness backcountry but should be operated well away from flammable vegetation and forest litter. Extreme caution is urged 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.
How to Extinguish a Campfire: smokeybear.com/
Active Fire Information – Incident Information System: inciweb.nwcg.gov/
Olympic National Park information: www.nps.gov/olym/
Olympic National Forest information: www.fs.usda.gov/olympic
State and county area burn bans: www.waburnbans.net
Mount Lena Fire Update
The lightning-caused Mt. Lena Fire that started on August 16 continues to burn in the southeast portion of the Olympic National Forest in the Hamma Hamma area. The fire has grown to an estimated 20 acres after the area received a pattern of hot, dry, unstable conditions over the last several days. Fire personnel are continuing to monitor fire behavior. A confinement strategy is being implemented to keep the fire north of the Hamma Hamma Road and west of Cabin Creek. Smoke from the Mt. Lena fire may be visible at times. Due to the steep, hazardous, and inaccessible terrain, this will be a long duration fire that will continue to burn until a season-ending weather event in the fall. Updated fire information for the Mt. Lena Fire can be found at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7184/
For public safety, Olympic National Forest has implemented a fire closure of the Lena Lake trail system (Trails # 810, 811, and 821) due to its proximity to the Mt. Lena Fire. The closure prohibits public access to trails that lead to both Upper and Lower Lena lakes, as well as the southern portion of The Brothers Wilderness. All visitor use past the Lena Lake trailhead at the junction of Forest Road 25 is prohibited. The trail and area closure will be in place until the fire no longer poses a threat to the area.
Heavy smoke on the Olympic Peninsula from unprecedented wildfires in Eastern Washington and Oregon is expected to linger in the coming days. Detailed information about air quality and wildfire smoke impacts on health as well as smoke modeling tools and guidelines for considering whether to modify activity can be found online at www.wasmoke.blogspot.com.
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