Mount Rainier National Park has lifted its parkwide fire ban after consultation with federal fire management officials.
Campfires will be permitted at the park’s three campgrounds, including the Ohanapecosh Campground, the Cougar Rock Campground and the White River Campground. This brings the park in alignment with adjacent U.S. Forest Service lands.
Fires must be fully contained within the closed grate.
“Never burn trash and do not leave fires unattended,” the park stated in a news release. “Branches, twigs and cones nourish the forest as they decompose; do not collect these materials to create a fire.”
Dry firewood can be purchased within the park at the Longmire General Store. To protect Mount Rainier National Park’s forests, the park asks visitors to “buy it where you burn it.”
Firewood brought in from other areas could contain invasive insect species that pose a threat to park habitats.
To protect the park, officials ask guest to consider the following:
• Buy firewood near where it will burn: That means the wood was cut within 50 miles of where the campfire will be.
• Wood that looks clean and healthy can still have tiny insect eggs or microscopic fungi spores that could start a new and deadly infestation. Always leave it at home, even if the firewood appears safe.
• Aged or seasoned wood is still not safe. Just because the wood is dry doesn't mean that invasive insects are not living there.
• Tell friends not to bring wood with them.
Fires are never permitted on trails or in the park’s backcountry. Discharging, or using any kind of fireworks, tracer ammunition or other incendiary devices in any location on federal lands is also prohibited.
The fire ban was put into place on July 23.
