County burn ban continues with drought

The burn ban for Washington County that was instituted Oct. 6 will remain in effect as long as drought conditions persist. That was the conclusion of Washington Fire Chief Tom Wide, who spoke about the ban Friday morning.

?The ban will continue until we get a measurable amount of rainfall,? Wide said. ?We got a little bit of rain in the past few days, but it was only about two-tenths of an inch. The area north of us got quite a bit, but our area hasn?t gotten a whole lot of rain yet. Right now, we?re in a period of drought. If it rains today, it doesn?t mean we?ll lift the ban. We need to get out of the drought pattern. We need to have continuous rain in the forecast.?

All of the fire chiefs in the county were asked their opinion of whether to implement a ban last week. Wide said the vote was unanimous to support the ban. The fire chiefs informed Washington County Emergency Management Coordinator Larry Smith of their desire, who then relayed the request to state fire marshal Raymond Reynolds, who made the ban official.

?We knew other counties had already done a ban, and that it was probably a good idea to do it here,? Wide said.

Smith said that 37 counties in Iowa have a burn ban in place.

Wide said the fire chiefs were worried about fires spreading in farm fields and in town.

Those who fail to comply with the burn ban will be charged with a misdemeanor. The ban is being enforced by the Washington Sheriff?s Office, the Washington Police Department and the fire departments in the county. Washington Police Chief Greg Goodman said the penalty is 30 days in jail and a fine ranging from $65 to $625.

Wide said he has not had to cite anyone yet.

?I think there have been a couple of people burning who weren?t aware of the ban, and they were told to put out the fire,? said Wide. ?We?re not out there to cite people and give tickets. We?re out there to protect people.?

There are waivers available for people who want to burn during the ban. They must obtain the consent of their local fire chief. Wide said a few people have called him who wanted to burn during the ban but none of them have applied for a waiver.

?Most of them have brush piles they want to dispose of,? Wide said.

Residents of the city of Washington can take their yard waste to the wastewater treatment plant. Those who want to get rid of their leaves can rake them into a pile on their terrace and the city?s leaf vac will suck them up. The city will begin collecting leaves Monday in the northwest corner of town and proceed counterclockwise.

Smith said that burning leaves would be inadvisable whether there were a ban in place or not.

?In town, all communities have a compost site they can take stuff to,? Smith said. ?Burning leaves in town is not good idea anyway because many folks have health concerns about breathing that in. You also want to be a good neighbor and not burn the leaves when there are better ways to dispose of refuse.?

Smith said that the drought conditions are such that a small fire can spread rapidly through a cornfield.

?It would be a huge financial loss for a farmer if one of their fields caught on fire,? Smith said.

The burn ban does not apply to outdoor fireplaces, barbecue grills, the burning of trash in incinerators or trash burners made of metal, concrete masonry or heavy one-inch wire mesh, with no openings greater than one square inch.