(Effective August 18, 2026)
Pursuant to chapter 17.24 RCW, a quarantine is established to protect the state of Washington from the introduction of plant pests, including plant diseases, and bee pests transported on firewood from outside the state.
The movement of firewood containing plant pests and bee pests poses a threat to Washington's forests, agriculture, and environment. Eggs, larvae, and adult stages of many invasive insect pests can be carried on or inside firewood and are easily spread when firewood is moved from one location to another. Introductions of these invasive insect pests have destroyed forests and crops and are costly to control. Invasive plant pests that may be transported through firewood include emerald ash borer, spongy moth, Asian longhorned beetle, spotted lanternfly, pine wood nematode, Sirex woodwasp, Japanese cedar longhorn beetle, and other insects and organisms that can directly or indirectly injure or cause disease or damage in plants or parts of plants or in processed, manufactured, or other products of plants, or that can be considered bee pests. The director of the department has determined that it is necessary to establish a quarantine to prevent the introduction of plant pests and bee pests to protect the environmental quality, forests, floriculture, and agricultural crops of the state of Washington.
No person shall transport, by any means, untreated firewood into the state of Washington, for sale or use within the state, from any location outside of the state.
This quarantine and the requirements set forth in this rule do not apply to firewood harvested and remaining within Washington state, compressed wood bricks, pellets, and other processed wood products used for fuel wood uses such as home heating or campfires, and any nonfirewood product or logs for industrial use, such as sawlogs, pulpwood, or wood chips being transported to facilities for processing into lumber, paper, or manufactured wood products.