PRESCRIBED FIRE NOTICE:

Prescribed Fire Operations will commence on the Cle Elum Ridge above Roslyn on Monday October 5th. Smoke will be widely visible from across the upper county including from I-90, the Teanaway, and Suncadia.

Please see the nearby post for trail closure information.

We anticipate some smoke impacts in the City in the early morning hours for the next several days. In general smoke will settle into the valley between 1am and 7am and in generally cleared out by 9am. Prescribed Fire is an essential component of our community and infrastructure protection plan and helps to reduce fuel loading while creating a more resilient landscape.

This series of burns is being managed by the Nature Conservancy on their managed lands. The burn will be staffed by the Upper Kittitas County Fuels Crew, the US Forest Service Cle Elum Ranger District, and crews from multiple local and regional agencies.

Thank you for adhering to trail closures and for the community support for this effort.

UPDATED 10/9/26 PRESCRIBED FIRE TRAIL CLOSURE NOTICE:

Crews successfully completed the planned burn and the closure area is being reduced effective 7:00am on Saturday October 10th. The new trail closure is as follows:

See map below.

Closed trails are:
• Ewok from the 4th of July Cut-off to the top of the Ridge. (Note: Riders and hikers can take the 4th of July cut-off to Crooked Tree and ascend the Ridge from there - Crooked Tree meets the top of Ewok at the top)

For firefighter and public safety please obey trail closures. Prescribed fire on the Cle Elum Ridge is part of a comprehensive community and infrastructure protection plan for communities in the Cle Elum Valley. Work is funded by the Washington DNR, USDA Forest Service, City of Roslyn, and private partners.

Prescribed Fire Operations are led and managed by The Nature Conservancy with support from UKC Fuels, USDA Forest Service, and multiple local fire jurisdictions.

Flock Camera Update

On September 28, the City Council made the decision not to renew the City’s contract with Flock Safety. The contract ended yesterday, September 30.

The City had five Flock Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) cameras. As of October 1, the City has covered all five of its cameras, as shown in the photo below, and the cameras are no longer able to collect license plate data.

The Cle Elum/Roslyn Police Department is currently coordinating with Flock Safety to determine when the City’s cameras can be fully decommissioned and removed.

Community members may still see Flock cameras around the area. These cameras are not owned or operated by the City.

Kittitas County Burn Ban to end September 30

Kittitas County Fire Marshal Dan Young announced that the county’s burn ban will be lifted at noon on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, when the Governor’s statewide burn ban ends.

Kittitas County bases its burn ban decisions on fire conditions, not a fixed calendar date. The Fire Marshal and local stakeholders use agreed-upon measures that include the moisture content of wildfire fuels, current and forecast weather, and relative humidity. Those measures now support lifting the county restriction on recreational fires and open burning.

Conditions improved before the statewide ban was scheduled to end. The county kept its ban in place until noon September 30 so residents would receive one clear message about when burning could resume under both county and state restrictions.

Lifting the ban does not eliminate the risk of a fire spreading. Keep fires away from combustible material, have water or other extinguishing equipment ready, and attend your fire until it is completely out. Do not burn garbage or construction debris. Open burning is prohibited when winds or gusts exceed 10 mph unless prior approval has been obtained.

The cities of Cle Elum, Roslyn, and Kittitas, and the town of South Cle Elum, will also allow recreational fires beginning at noon September 30.

Rules on public lands may differ. For questions about burning on lands managed by the Department of Natural Resources, call 509-925-8510; on Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife lands, call 360-902-2515; and on U.S. Forest Service lands, call 509-852-1100.

For questions about burning in unincorporated Kittitas County, contact the Fire Marshal’s Office at 509-962-7000.