Longest fire season on record ends for Klamath-Lake Counties

The following is a press release from the Oregon Department of Forestry.

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - The 2021 Fire Season will officially end for Klamath and Lake Counties.  Fire management personnel from the Oregon Department of Forestry, Klamath-Lake District, and Walker Range Patrol Association in cooperation with other local fire agencies and departments will declare the termination of the 2021 season as of 12:01 am Friday, October 22, 2021. “Fire Season” for the area has been in effect since May 15.

“The 2021 Fire Season was the longest we’ve had on record, lasting 160 days. It was also one of the worst seasons in terms of drought and total fire acres burned in the South-Central Oregon area that I can remember. We are relieved to finally have enough moisture on the ground and continued in the forecast to be beyond the severe wildland fire threat we’ve seen so much of” states Dennis Lee, District Forester for Klamath-Lake ODF.

The ending of fire season lifts the ban on open debris burning in Klamath and Lake Counties. Logging Operation requirements including watchman services and fire equipment on site, in effect on private, county, and state lands have also been lifted.

Check with your local rural structural fire district for burning regulations within their districts and the county health departments for air quality restrictions. The Oregon Department of Forestry, Klamath-Lake District does not issue or require burn permits on lands solely protected by them when fire season is not in effect.

Fire managers from the Klamath-Lake District, Oregon Department of Forestry [ODF], in cooperation with other local wildland fire agencies and structural fire departments, would like to remind the public that just because fire season has been terminated, fire starts and spread may still occur under the right conditions. Please continue to use fire-safe practices all year-round. 

Landowners need to remember that any burning escaping their control is their liability and they could be billed for the fire suppression costs.  Be cautious, be fire safe.

The Oregon Department of Forestry and Walker Range Patrol Association would like to thank its cooperators, landowners, and the people of Klamath and Lake Counties for their assistance in preventing fires during 2021.