Bend Fire & Rescue announces ban on most recreational fires, starting Friday

Exceptions include barbecues, smokers, outdoor chimneys and approved fire pits with screens

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Bend Fire & Rescue announced Thursday it will impose restrictions on recreational fires effective at 12:01 a.m. Friday, to help reduce the risk of fire causes associated with recreational burning.

This restriction will be in effect for all residents and visitors in the city until further notice, and includes all areas within the Deschutes County Rural Fire Protection District #2, the agency announced.

Redmond Fire & Rescue took a similar step earlier this week.

Here's the rest of the Bend Fire announcement:

Open recreational fires using wood, charcoal and similar solid fuels used for cooking, warming or similar purposes are prohibited.

Not included in this restriction are recreational fires using commercially manufactured appliances or equipment such as propane, butane, natural gas or electric portable cooking appliances, outdoor chimneys, approved manufactured firepits with screens, barbeques, smokers and similar appliances used in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.

These commercially manufactured fire enclosures are typically smaller than open fires, have screens on them to prevent embers from floating away and limit the exposure of embers and ash to combustibles on the ground.

Unattended recreational fires and outdoor cooking are a leading cause of fires in Bend. All cooking shall be supervised by an adult and have a portable fire extinguisher or a charged water hose for fire suppression. All fires shall be fully extinguished and cold to the touch prior to leaving.

Currently, there are three active wildfires occurring in our neighboring districts and communities. All residents are asked to have a heightened awareness of the conditions and to take reasonable measures to reduce your risk.

The lack of precipitation over winter and spring, higher than normal temperatures for an extended period of time and our wildland partners already committed to active incidents requires all of our community to take these extra precautions until conditions improve around the region.

Many residents are located in areas protected by both Oregon Department of Forestry and Bend Fire & Rescue. The following information and maps of regulated closures and public use restrictions currently in place in Central Oregon may be helpful to determine restrictions that affect your area:

Oregon Department of Forestry: http://www.oregon.gov/ODF/Fire/Pages/Restrictions.aspx

USFS Deschutes National Forest: http://www.fs.usda.gov/centraloregon

Deschutes County: https://maps.deschutes.org/custom/basic/PublicUseRestrictions.html

Bend Fire Department burning information: www.bendoregon.gov/burninginfo

Residents and visitors can contact Bend Fire & Rescue at 541-322-6309 for additional information and other measure to reduce your risk.