Countywide burn ban in effect

Burning in the county has been banned due to dry and hazardous conditions.

Acting on a recommendation from fire chiefs, county commissioners approved the ban at today’s meeting.

It will be effective for seven days, and a review Monday will determine if the ban should continue or be lifted.

Prohibited activities include:

• Building, maintaining, attending, or using an open fire or campfire except in permanent stoves and fireplaces, and barbecue grills in developed recreational sites or residential lawns.
• Burning of all fence rows, fields, pastures, grasslands, ravines, trash, and debris, except that trash and debris may be burned in permanent stoves or permanent enclosures.
• Use of welding or torch equipment without fire protection equipment on site.
• Careless use of smoking materials, including cigarettes, cigars, and smoking pipes. Materials must be discarded in a manner that precludes threat from smoldering remains.

Knowing and willful violation of the ban is a class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in county jail and $2,500 fine.