Indiana Dunes National Park to burn mounting driftwood piles in coming weeks

PORTER COUNTY, Ind. -- Indiana Dunes National Park officials announced on Tuesday that crews will conduct a debris pile burn adjacent to the beach at Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk at some point over the next three weeks, as weather conditions allow.

"Over the last several years storms have deposited large tree size pieces of driftwood along the beach," park officials said. "Fire staff will burn the wood debris, spreading the cooled ashes to not create a hazard to the public. Firefighters will use the same planning precautions that are used for prescribed fires to conduct this pile burn. Firefighting equipped ATVs will be on site for safety."

Park officials say the public is reminded that campfires and grills are not allowed on any of the National Park Service beaches at Indiana Dunes National Park due to the fact that, on a windy day, a campfire or grill may start a vegetation fire which can be difficult to access and extinguish.

"Additionally, campfires, even when buried, can cause the sand to stay hot for an extended amount of time potentially resulting in burns to other visitors," park officials said.