Wildfires Preventable, Aug. 5

While firefighters continue to battle dozens of wildfires throughout the Northwest, there’s one thing they don’t need: Help from careless people.  Many of the large, difficult-to-fight wildfires have been caused by lightning. One cell, generally moving from northern California up through the Cascades across Oregon and Washington, can leave multitudes of fire starts in its wake. But most fires are still caused by people.  Lightning accounts for 20-30 percent of all fires, while 70-80 percent of wildfires are human-caused.  Oregon and Washington have already had 1,642 fires (835 human-caused) that have collectively burned more than 485,000 acres. So how can the public lend a hand in the fight? Simple, don’t be part of the problem.  Leading the way in human-caused fires is debris burning.  Anyone responsible for starting a fire, accidental or not, is potentially liable for those fire suppression costs, not to mention the civil liability for damages to neighboring property owners. Combined, these costs could run into the millions. If burning is prohibited where you live, and you witness someone burning, call 911 immediately.