As of September 9, 2019, the King County Fire Marshal has not lifted the County Wide Burn Ban.
Once the County has lifted the burn ban, the District will look at the fuel moisture levels Fuel moisture is dependent upon both environmental conditions (such as weather, local topography, and length of day) and vegetation characteristics. The smallest fuels most often take the least time to respond to atmospheric moisture, whereas larger fuels lose or gain moisture slowly over time.
We especially look to the “one-hour fuels” those fuels that are less than .25 inches in diameter. These fuels can change in their fire dynamics in one hour (one hour of hot dry weather or one hour of cooler wet weather). These are typically the first fuels ignited and the fire spreads to other larger fuels.
So, the larger fuels dry out slower, but at the same time, they gain moisture at a slower pace. Fuels that are .25 – 1 inch in diameter, are called 10-hour fuels, they tend to change with 10 hours of heat, or moisture.
We will lift the burn ban as soon as KC lifts the ban and we have determined that it is safe to do so in the District. Make sure you have a current 2019 burn permit issued by Mountain View Fire.
Mountain View’s burn ban hotline is 253 735 0286 or visit www.mvfire.org