Eastern Washington Closes Rec Access Due To Extreme Fire Danger

Washington State’s Department of Natural Resources announced that it is closing all recreational and public access to DNR-managed lands in eastern part of the state due to the ongoing drought and resulting extreme fire danger. The rule goes into effect July 23, 2021 and will last until fire conditions improve. The entire state is currently under a fire ban, and in case you’ve been outside in much of the country in the last few days, you’ll have noticed wildfire smoke resulting from fires all across the West.

The access ban applies to DNR-managed state lands, conservation areas, community forests and any associated roads, trails, campgrounds, recreational sites or recreational facilities. Washington’s ongoing Red Apple Fire alone has burned over 12,000 acres. Across the state, over 900 fires have burned more than 140,000 acres.

“This summer is smashing all our records and leaving the state bone dry, leaving eastern Washington to face an ongoing, tremendous risk of wildfire,” said Washington’s Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz, in a press release. “Over the past year and a half, we have been reminded just how important our public lands are, so closing them is not a decision we take lightly. But with the drought leaving the region as dry as ever we must do all that we can to prevent human-caused fires. Our firefighters are already stretched thin fighting major fires across our state. We must take reasonable steps – and make sacrifices – in order to protect them and our communities.”