Yesterday, on Tuesday, July 21, Benton County officially reached EXTREME fire danger, the highest classification on the Department of Natural Resources fire danger rating system.
This is not a cautionary yellow level warning, but the top of the scale, and it demands immediate attention from every resident in the county.
No outdoor burning is allowed. Period.
What EXTREME Fire Danger Actually Means
The fire danger classification is based on the Energy Release Component or ERC, which measures how quickly fire will spread depending on the moisture content of available fuel. In Benton County right now, the ERC has exceeded 17, pushing us into the EXTREME category.
Fires start readily and spread furiously. Every single fire start, no matter how small, has the potential to become a large uncontrollable event. Fire behavior at this level is expected to be extreme and erratic.
A fire that starts with no wind can still spread rapidly in every direction. Embers can travel significant distances and start new fires far from the original point of ignition.
At EXTREME, development into high-intensity burning happens faster and from smaller fires than at any other level on the scale.
One single spark. A cigarette. A piece of equipment throwing off heat or sparks. Any of these things can start something that cannot be stopped.
Whatever You Do, Do Not Do These Things
No outdoor burning of any kind in Benton County during EXTREME fire danger. No yard waste. No burn piles. No campfires. No exceptions.
Fire restrictions are in effect, and the consequences of ignoring them extend far beyond a fine.
- The Ryegrass Coulee Fire near Vantage earlier this month started fast and hit 535 acres before crews could get meaningful containment.
- The Tucannon Fire near Dayton grew to 6,000 acres in a single afternoon.
Both of those fires burned under conditions similar to what Benton County is experiencing right now.
The landscape around the Tri-Cities is tinder-dry right now. Treat every potential ignition source as a serious threat because, at EXTREME danger, that is exactly what it is.
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