Redmond Fire & Rescue bans recreational burning

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, July 13, Redmond Fire & Rescue will impose a ban on all recreational burning and follow the regulated use closures imposed by the Oregon Department of Forestry and public use restrictions imposed by the Central Oregon Fire Management Services in the Central Oregon District to help prevent human-caused wildfires.

This ban will be in effect for the entire Redmond Fire & Rescue Fire District until further notice.

All open fires are prohibited, including campfires, charcoal fires, fires used for pleasure, religious, ceremonial, cooking, warmth or similar purposes. Not included in this burn ban are portable cooking stoves using liquefied or bottled fuels.

With drought conditions declared for much of the Northwest and hot temperatures extending into the next several months, firefighters will be busy responding to lightning-caused wildfires. Additional wildfires caused through carelessness of negligence create unnecessary risk to our firefighters, the land, natural resources, our visitors, and our neighboring private lands.

Residents are strongly encouraged to review the following information and maps of regulated closures and public use restrictions currently in place in Central Oregon:

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

Residents and visitors can visit redmondfireandrescue.org or call 541-504-5035 to get updated burning information and regulations. Redmond Fire & Rescue will continue to monitor weather and fuel moisture conditions to determine when the ban will be lifted.