Burn bans hit 8 Western WA counties ahead of Fourth of July

It may be relatively cool with considerable cloudiness for much of this week, yet many areas now have burn bans in place. Burn bans are in effect in Pierce, King, Kitsap, Snohomish, Mason, Clallam, San Juan, and Whatcom counties. Island County plans to implement an outdoor burn ban starting on July 1.

Many cities also have burn bans in place, such as Seattle, Mercer Island, Kirkland, Renton, and Redmond.

Conditions across much of Western Washington are drier than average, and the burn bans involve no open outdoor burning except for small recreational and cooking fires in approved fire pits. No open pile burning of any kind. For burn ban details, visit your local fire agency website.

All the state’s national parks also have burn bans in place. For those camping, campfires are permitted only in fire pits. Authorities emphasize that campfires should be cold before leaving the campground.

Summer began a week ago with sunshine and quite warm conditions.

More warm, dry weather is anticipated through the summer

This past winter’s mountain snowpack peaked at around 50% of normal. As July 1 approaches, nearly all the snow has melted, except on the highest peaks, such as Mt. Baker and Mt. Rainier.

These outdoor burn bans are in place before the Fourth of July – the country’s 250th birthday – this Saturday. Fire and emergency response authorities strongly encourage people to visit local fireworks shows rather than light off fireworks in their neighborhood to avoid fires.

The weather expected on the Fourth looks to bring a return of sunshine, with temperatures warming into the 70s across much of Western Washington. Between now and then, only a few limited light showers are anticipated – not nearly enough to slow any fire starts.

Other steps to help prevent fires include keeping burning materials inside vehicles and tightening tow chains to avoid creating sparks on the pavement that can start roadside fires.

About four out of five wildfires are started by humans. Eastern Washington has already had close to two dozen wildfires, including one that burned some Spokane-area homes just less than two weeks ago.

The latest seasonal weather outlook for this summer offers solid odds of warmer-than-average temperatures through September and drier-than-average conditions during the usually driest time of the year.

Thanks to the ongoing dry conditions, the burn bans are expected to remain in place at least past the Labor Day Weekend. Enjoy this summer, just do so safely without any fire starts.

Ted Buehner is the KIRO Newsradio meteorologist. Follow him on X and Bluesky. Read more of his stories here.