Controlled burn sparks notice of air-quality violation in Yakima County

YAKIMA, Wash. -- The Forest Service is in trouble for a controlled burn that filled the Yakima Valley with thick smoke for five hours in late September.

The 2,000-acre burn in the Bethel Ridge area west of Yakima violated state clean air laws, according to the Yakima Regional Clean Air Agency, which for the first time has issued a violation notice to the Forest Service.

No penalties were attached to the notice, but the Naches Ranger District must present a detailed plan for preventing future violations or face penalties as much as $12,000 per day.

District Ranger Randy Shepard declined to comment about the violation notice, sent last Wednesday. State law requires the ranger district to respond within 10 days of the notice with plans on preventing future violations.

"We're consulting with our internal counsel," Shepard said Monday. "I don't know what all else is happening."

At least 17 residents from Tieton, Selah and Yakima complained to the clean air agency about eye irritation, runny noses, scratchy throats and aggravated asthma due to the smoke, said agency spokesman Dave Caprile.

The burn was intended to reduce the danger of a catastrophic wildfire by reducing downed tree limbs, bushes and other debris that have built up after decades of fire suppression.

Forest authorities say an unexpected wind shift late in the afternoon of Sept. 28 -- after the controlled burn had begun -- sent smoke in the opposite direction, toward Yakima.

"We certainly strive to keep it out of the larger metropolitan areas like Yakima," Shepard said. "We got caught with a weather change that was not identified until too late."

Caprile said he hopes the two agencies can work together to improve notification to area residents about planned controlled burns.

"We're just hoping that we'll be able to effect some change so we don't have any of these kinds of violations in the future," he said.

He added that "we don't accuse them of knowingly or willfully doing this. It's just an occurrence that possibly could have been avoided with local input at some point."

The ranger district currently notifies television and newspaper media about upcoming burns and is considering creating a Web site with around-the-clock updates on fires.

"The problem we run into is finding an effective way of communicating to all the potential people who could be affected," Shepard said.

After the ranger district responds to the notice, the clean air agency will have 30 days to determine whether any further enforcement is necessary.

* Melissa Sánchez can be reached at 509-577-7675 or msanchez@yakimaherald.com.