State parks campfire ban extended through Labor Day

The statewide state park ban on campfires and open flames will continue for another week, through the Labor Day holiday weekend, officials said Tuesday.

“While temperatures have moderated in some areas and a little rain has fallen, especially on the Willamette Valley and coast, conditions have not improved enough to warrant relaxing the restriction,” Oregon State Parks said in a statement.

“Fire crews are still heavily engaged in combating blazes in Central and Eastern Oregon, and resources in many local communities are stretched thin,” the agency said.

Propane stoves for cooking and charcoal briquettes for cooking are not covered by the statewide ban, but some parks have more restrictive bans in place that do cover briquettes — including a new ban put in place this week at Cove Palisades State Park, where a destructive fire broke out Saturday that burned 280 acres and destroyed two homes, and was blamed on improperly disposed of briquettes.

Before traveling, officials said visitors should verify what’s allowed at their destination by calling the park, calling the state park toll-free information line at 800-551-6949 ( Mon – Fri , 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.), or looking up the park online at http://oregonstateparks.org/

The restriction will be reviewed again next week, officials said.

State parks spokesman Chris Havel said the agency is “keenly aware” of the impact on holiday-weekend campers.

“This was a very hard decision,” he told NewsChannel 21 by e-mail. “We like making people happy — that could very well be our mission statement — and we go out of our way to keep from disappointing people.”

“But when it comes to safety, we have to set our natural compulsion aside … and simply do the right, safe thing,” Havel said.