Due to a lack of significant rainfall, upcoming increased temperatures, and the potential for seasonal east winds, all fire agencies within Washington County want to remind the public that the High-Fire Danger Burn Ban is still in place until further notice.

The High-Fire Danger Burn Ban overrides the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s fall burn season, which typically opens on Oct. 1. All outdoor, agricultural, and slash burning is prohibited until the High-Fire Danger Burn Ban has been lifted.

The High-Fire Danger Burn Ban is administered through the Washington County Fire Defense Board. Washington County fire agencies include Banks Fire District #13, Cornelius Fire Department, Forest Grove Fire Department, Gaston Rural Fire District, Hillsboro Fire & Rescue, and Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue. Burning restrictions are authorized under Oregon Revised Statute 478.960 and Oregon Fire Code 307.

The burn ban prohibits the following activities:

1. Backyard or open burning (branches, yard debris, etc.).
2. Agricultural burning (agricultural wastes, crops, field burning, etc.).
3. Any other land clearing, slash, stump, waste, debris, or controlled burning.

The burn ban does not prohibit:

1. Small outdoor cooking, warming, or recreational fires. These include portable or permanent fire pits, fire tables, and campfires with a maximum fuel area of three feet in diameter and two feet in height. Fires must be in a safe location, away from combustibles or vegetation, and fully extinguished after use.
2. Barbeque grills, smokers, and similar cooking appliances with clean, dry firewood, briquettes, wood chips, pellets, propane, natural gas, or similar fuels.

There may be more restrictive fire safety rules on and within a 1/8 mile of Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF)-protected land, which exists throughout much of rural Washington County. ODF restrictions may include prohibitions on campfires, smoking, target shooting, powered equipment, motorized vehicles, and other public/private landowner and industrial fire restrictions. More details about ODF fire restrictions are available at ODF Fire Restrictions.

Outdoor fires in violation of this burn ban may be immediately extinguished. If a fire agency responds to a fire started in willful violation of this burn ban, the person responsible may be liable for all costs incurred, as well as legal fees per ORS 478.965.

Fire chiefs in Washington County encourage the public to continue using extreme caution with activities that could start a fire.

SW Windham Oaks Ct

Early Saturday morning at 6:45 a.m., callers began reporting to 911 that smoke was coming from a home in the 2100 block of Southwest Windham Oaks Court in West Linn. Based on descriptions to dispatch, the call was upgraded to bring additional personnel and resources to the scene. Initial reports indicated that occupants had exited the home. First-arriving firefighters found heavy smoke coming from the eaves and roof, and upgraded the call to a second alarm for further support.

Heavy smoke swiftly turned into flames through the roof. As firefighters quickly began to work on extinguishing the fire, other crews searched and confirmed that no additional occupants remained in the home. Firefighters worked for 45 minutes within the approximately 6,700 square foot home to bring the fire under control, with assistance from Clackamas Fire and Lake Oswego Fire. Crews remained on scene for more than three hours to assist with salvaging items, monitoring, and extinguishing hot spots.

A TVF&R fire investigator spent the morning on scene working to determine the cause. Her preliminary findings indicate that the fire appears to have originated outside in conjunction with some electrical wiring for landscape lighting. Two residents and one dog have been displaced as a result of this morning’s fire.