Fire Season Begins Statewide

OREGON – Fire season began July 1 for the Tillamook State Forest beginning July 1, and as of Monday, July 6, the rest of the state’s ODF protected lands have followed suit, according to the Oregon Department of Forestry. 

ODF’s Southwest Oregon was the first area in the state to declare fire season on May 1. 

With the advent of fire season comes a host of restrictions and safety measures put in place for the general public and for those working in lands protected by the Oregon Department of Forestry. 

With over 16 million acres of private, county, state and federal land lying in areas within ODF’s protection region throughout the state, the department has placed a series of regulations depending on fire danger designed to prevent human-caused wildfires by the general public and industrial logging and resource extraction operations.

Unregulated burning is closed, among other activities. To find out more about possible permitted burning, call the Oregon Department of Forestry’s Forest Grove offices at 503-357-2191.

A map with details on current fire restriction for the general public can be found at www.oregon.gov/ODF/Fire/Pages/Restrictions.aspx.

Operators who work within ODF lands such as logging operations or other natural resource extraction activities are required to follow fire season requirements, including providing a water supply, fire tools, spark arresters on equipment, and fire watch. Rules for these activities can be found at the Industrial Fire Precaution Level (IFPL) system web page at www.oregon.gov/odf/fire/Documents/industrial-fire-precaution-levels.pdf and at www.oregon.gov/odf/fire/documents/fire-season-requirements-for-industrial-operations.pdf.