Beginning Monday, Oct. 24 at 9 a.m., the High-Fire Danger Burn Ban will be lifted in Washington County. With the help of recent rains and an increase in humidity levels, the Washington County Fire Defense Board has moved to lift the ban, which has been in place since mid-July. The Board is comprised of all Washington County fire agencies including Banks Fire District #13, Cornelius Fire Department, Forest Grove Fire Department, Gaston Rural Fire District, Hillsboro Fire & Rescue, and Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue. The ban will also be lifted in all areas served by Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue within Clackamas, Multnomah, and Yamhill counties.

Residents conducting backyard burning or businesses conducting commercial agricultural burning must follow all applicable Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF), and Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) laws for burning. Fire departments or districts do not have authority to enforce air-quality complaints regarding smoke. Additional information on DEQ’s laws and guidelines for burning can be found at https://www.oregon.gov/deq/aq/Pages/Burning.aspx .

For residents in TVF&R’s service area, this interactive map shows whether burning is allowed at their address: 

https://tvfr.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/lookup/index.html?appid=df8d5dd233854662ae9b999e911876c5

For residents in Hillsboro Fire & Rescue’s service area, municipal code prohibits outdoor burning year-round except for recreational land ceremonial fires. Learn more at http://hillsboro-oregon.gov/airquality .

For all other areas, residents should call their local fire agency to determine whether burning is permitted at their location.