Due to the increase in fuel moisture levels and recent rain, the Fire Marshal’s Office will lift the burn ban for outdoor burning. The burn ban will be lifted at 8:00 AM on Friday, September 14th, 2018 for the unincorporated areas of Whatcom County. At that time, verbal burn permits will be available via the Outdoor Burning Information Line. Written burn permits for fires larger than 4’ X 4’ will be available at the Planning & Development Services Office located at 5280 Northwest Dr. All outdoor burning requires a permit, except for legal recreational fires.

If your property is located within WCFD 5 – Pt. Roberts, WCFD 11 – Lummi Island, or WCFD 17 – Sandy Point, you MUST contact those fire districts to find out if outdoor burning restrictions have been lifted for those areas.

If a property you want to have a fire on falls under the jurisdiction of the Washington State Department of Natural Resources or a federal forest or park jurisdiction, you must contact those organizations prior to lighting any fire. Not all jurisdictions are relieving their outdoor burning restrictions at this time.

For current outdoor burning information and verbal burn permits please call the Outdoor Burning Information Line at (360) 778-5903. Requirements for all types of outdoor burning are available on our website at: http://www.whatcomcounty.us/fire-marshal.

A permanent ban on open burning remains in effect for the cities and Urban Growth Areas (UGAs) of Bellingham, Lynden, Ferndale, Blaine, Everson, Nooksack, Sumas, Birch Bay, Columbia Valley, and Cherry Point. For more information on the permanent burn ban you may contact the Northwest Clean Air Agency at (360) 428-1617 or check their website at www.nwcleanair.org.

Please remember as the burn ban is lifted:

• Please use extreme caution! Vegetation is still recovering from the long stretch of dry weather and is susceptible to fire spread.
• Violations of these burn restrictions can result in a minimum $250.00 fine. In addition, if you have an illegal fire that escapes or needs to be extinguished by the fire department, you may be held financially responsible for fire suppression costs and may be criminally charged for Reckless Burning.

If you have any questions about open burning in Whatcom County that were not answered by the Outdoor Burning Information Line, please contact the Whatcom County Fire Marshal’s Office at (360) 778-5900.