Could you please explain why Vancouver residents are allowed to build campfires in their backyards, allowing smoke to blow into neighboring homes? When I informed my neighbors that their fire pit was hazardous to my family’s health, I was told it’s legal. Why would this blatant air pollution be allowed?
Your neighbors may think their sweet backyard hearth is harmlessly heartwarming burning — but the smoke may indeed be crossing a line, according to Southwest Clean Air Agency operations manager Randy Peltier. There’s a judgment call here, though, and that judgment appears to be located right up the nose of an agency field investigator.
Outdoor burning of nearly every type is illegal or regulated throughout Clark County. State law prohibits nearly all outdoor burning in urban areas and adjacent high-density areas, according to the agency — and even out in rural areas, a permit is required for most types of burning. Take a look at http://www.swcleanair.org/clark.asp.
“Types of burning?” Yes, based mostly on size. Residential burning means piles smaller than 10 by 10 by 6 feet, and vegetation only; you can print out your own permit or pick one up at a local fire department. Land-clearing burning means a larger pile than that, and requires pre-inspection by the fire marshal and a permit and fee.
Both residential and land-clearing burns are banned throughout the whole county from July 15 to September 30. Burning trash has been illegal in Washington since 1967, by the way, and burn barrels have been banned since 2000.
Backyard campfires and fire pits — the law calls them recreational fires — are allowed outright if they’re no larger than 3 by 3 by 2 feet and built of seasoned firewood or charcoal. Not lumber, not junk wood, not vegetation cleared from your property.
Here’s a rule of thumb about the smoke from recreational fires in urban neighborhoods: Is it rising straight up before it dissipates? “If it’s not going straight up and over the rooftops, there’s a nuisance potential,” Peltier said. “If the smoke is leaving your property at ground level, you’re probably in violation.”
The burden of proof lies with the agency’s nose, he said. If the agency’s field inspectors somehow manage to respond in real time, they’ll start sniffing. To determine a violation, they’ll fill out what’s called a Field Odor Survey Form. If there’s a dispute, it can all wind up in front of a state Pollution Control Hearings Board.
But first, the inspector is more likely just to reach out informally to the burner: “Your smoke is bothering somebody. Can we work it out?”
Enforcement of these provisions — generally in backyards on evenings and weekends — is not easy, Peltier said. But the problem is growing, he added, with the agency taking about 1,000 burning complaints in 2014.
Why is such blatant air pollution allowed? Because it hasn’t been banned. Peltier said he’s not aware of politicians with an appetite for criminalizing weenie roasts.
“People like their fires,” Peltier said. “It’s almost as if it’s in their DNA.”
