TONASKET - The state Department of Ecology has issued a fine of $6,500 to Ardith Law for a burn barrel fire that escaped, causing a larger wildfire requiring response from firefighters.
     Burn barrels are illegal in the state, as is burning prohibited materials such as household garbage, plastics and cans.
     On Oct. 7, 2009, state Department of Natural Resources and local firefighters responded to the blaze about seven miles north of Tonasket near Pickens Mountain.
     At the time, landowner Law told a DNR fire investigator she had left the burn barrel unattended and flames from the fire spread to a quarter-acre of land, according to a DOE announcement.
     Law has 30 days after receiving the notice of penalty to pay the fine or to file an appeal with the state Pollution Control Hearings Board.
     Officials said it was the second blaze from an unattended burn barrel at the Law property requiring a response by firefighters. The earlier fire, known as Pickens Fire, charred more than 2,000 acres on Pickens Mountain on July 23, 2002.
     “More than 21 fires a year are started by escaped outdoor burning in Okanogan County,” DNR Fire Prevention Forester Guy Gifford said. “It's the No. 1 human cause of wildfires in the county.”
     DNR said 2002 fire suppression cost nearly $895,000. Property owners paid $62,800 in a settlement arbitrated through the Washington Attorney General's Office.
     DNR is seeking $1,310 reimbursement for the 2009 fire.