Fire Danger Arrives Punctually at 12:01 A.M.; All Permission to Burn Rescinded

VANCOUVER — Fire danger arrived in Clark County at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, the minute the fire marshal’s annual outdoor burn ban took effect, rescinding every burn permit issued before it.

The ban, in place through Sept. 30, prohibits land-clearing and residential burning countywide. It also un-issues permits already granted, a mechanism one Hockinson man discovered had been applied to the permit he received in June.

“They can just take it back,” he said. “I’d like to see that energy applied to my property taxes.”

A fire marshal’s office spokesperson explained that fire danger “begins on schedule, every year, at the same minute,” a statement residents found either reassuring or the exact opposite, with no one in between.

Campfires remain legal in improved fire pits at designated campgrounds. Asked what makes a fire pit improved, the county declined to define the phrase further, describing it as “improved.”