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Oklahoma Gardening

Current OFS County Burn Ban List

Okiedawn OK Zone 7

13 years ago

Several counties have implemented county-wide burn bans this week, so I've linked the Oklahoma Forestry Services webpage with the list of counties that have notified OFS of a burn ban in their county. Almost half the counties in OK now have a burn ban in place.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: OFS County Burn Ban List

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Comments (7)

scottokla
13 years ago
Darn it!!!
Okiedawn OK Zone 7
Original Author
13 years ago
Uh oh! I guess that means you haven't burnt your brush piles?
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Current Burn Ban Map 4/5/2011
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Comments (0)
I've linked the current county burn ban map as it appears this morning. A lot of counties that temporarily lifted burn bans a week or two ago now have burn bans in place again. This morning, 46 of the state's 77 counties have burn bans. Since new burn bans can be added anytime a county's commissioners decide to implement one, this maps updates constantly whenever OFS receives official notification from a county. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: County Burn Ban Map
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OT: Burn Bans & Fireworks: Can you? Should you?
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Comments (23)
Last night while I was out working in the garden before sunset, two or three departments a few miles west of us were dispatched to a grassfire that was caused by fireworks. I didn't hear the call when they dispatched it...I might have been over at the chicken coop locking it up for the night....but I could tell from the stress in their voices that they were racing to get to the fire before it could reach the house. They did it. They did make a special point of telling the dispatcher to write down on the call log that the fire was started by fireworks. I notice they've been doing that all week. I think they want "the powers that be" to understand just how many fires are being started by fireworks even though we do have a burn ban. Yesterday our county commissioners extended our burn ban for another 30 days. Hallelujah! And, in a move I'm not sure they've ever made before, they denied a local charitable/research foundation (one that is greatly admired and respected worldwide) a permit to conduct a prescribed burn. Under Oklahoma law, county commissioners can grant such prescribed burn permits even during burn bans, provided certain conditions are met, and that includes paying firefighers (via a donation to their department) to be on the property during the burn and also they have to agree that if the fire escapes the property and additional firefighters are called to fight it, those departments will be reimbursed for their expenses at FEMA hourly rates. Usually our county commissioners approve the prescribed burn permits for this foundation because it always follows all the rules and rarely if ever has a fire escape from their control. The fact that our commissioners said 'no' to them is a humongous big deal and caught the attention of all the fire departments. I just take it as a sign that our commissioners are as concerned as the rest of us about how dry it is here, and we are not nearly as dry as pretty much everyone else west of I-35. I've linked the upated burn ban page. Yesterday afternoon, when I checked it, there were quite a few more counties that either have enacted a burn ban this week or who have extended an existing ban. I think that currently 46 of our 77 counties have burn bans. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: Burn Ban Page from OFS Website
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Burn Bans
Q
Comments (0)
The number of counties and/or cities with burn bans grows daily. I've linked the OFS list below. Oklahoma City just passed a burn ban today too but I am not sure if or how it will show up on the map if the counties that comprise OKC don't pass a ban. Note that a few counties have timed their burn bans so they expire right before the fourth so that residents can enjoy fireworks and grilling on the fourth. I don't know what those counties will do after the fourth, but the plan in our county is to let the 7-day ban expire on the 3rd, allow everyone to enjoy the 4th, and then put a new 30-day ban in effect beginning on the fifth. Please note that the linked list and map are of those counties who have officially notified OFS. If you think that your county has issued a county-wide ban but it isn't on the list, check with them because maybe OFS did not receive official notification from them. Also, some cities have implemented burn bans even if their counties have not, so always double check with city or county officials if in doubt. The fines associated with violating a burn ban can be pretty steep and if your fire escapes and damages other persons' property, you can be held financially liable for the damage. The burn bans are just one more sign of the times----we are so hot and so dry they truly are necessary and, like drought, it takes more than an inch or two of rain to turn the conditions around. So, even if you have had rainfall today, your burn ban isn't going to just go away tomorrow. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: Burn Ban List and Map
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Half of OK Counties Now Have Burn Bans
Q
Comments (6)
We only went to 102, which wasn't bad compared to last week's 109 and 110. There are a lot of grassfires and wildfires across many parts of Oklahoma this week, but (knock on wood) our VFD has only had a couple of little piddly fires lately. To me, it seems like we are not busy at all compared to last summer, but Tim says we've had only 6 fires fewer year-to-date 2012 than we had by the same date in 2011. Maybe the difference is that these are smaller and less intense, thus less time-consuming, so far. With the heat about to crank up again in a couple of days, I think this weekend and next week might be kinda rough on everyone and on our gardens. Larry, I am glad y'all have had some relief. I looked at your state's burn ban map a few days back when every county in the state had a burn ban. It was kinda shocking seeing the whole state red. It is nice to know there's some green counties on the map now. I just hope they didn't drop the bans too quickly. One Texas county to our southeast implemented their burn ban today but the Texas county due south of us declined to do do today. Their commissioners usually approve a burn ban well before our county commissioners do, so I'm afraid we may not see a ban in our county for several weeks yet. I wish that our commissioners would be proactive and pass a burn ban before we start having big wildfires instead of waiting until after we're already having a lot of them. Burn bans, in and of themselves, do not prevent all the fires but they sure do reduce how many there are. Dawn
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scottokla
13 years ago
We finished three last week and have three more to go (each pile contains about 20 trees 40yrs old or so). Once the buds swell it is too late and we will have to wait until next winter or we will damage the standing trees because of the heat.
Okiedawn OK Zone 7
Original Author
13 years ago
You might try contacting your county's Emergency Management Director to see if your county makes exceptions for agricultural purposess and explain why it imperative that you burn your brush piles "now". They probably won't make exceptions in light of the weather expected later in the week, but if you ask them, the worst thing they can do is say no. I have heard that some counties will make an exception for agricultural burning that has to be done by a certain point for a specific reason, but have no way of knowing if that is true or if your county is one of them.
Okiedawn OK Zone 7
Original Author
13 years ago
Scott,

Tim says anyone can apply to their County Commissioners for a "pemit" to be allowed to burn during the burn ban. In our county, someone seeking a permit to burn during a burn ban merely appears in front of the County Commissioners to seek permission to burn. (If you want to do that, you have to arrange it before the meeting agenda is published so you can be added to the agenda.) In our county, you go through the Emergency Mgmt. Dir. to begin the permitting process. I don't know if your county has the same procedure or not.

In the link below from the OFS, if you'll go to Page 2, you'll see that exceptions are allowed and that it is the County Commissioners who make the exceptions.

You county commissioners may be more strict than ours, but in our county, I don't think that anyone who goes to the trouble to ask for a permit is ever denied as long as they promised to comply with the rules (only burning when winds are at or below a certain speed, RH is above a set minimal level, etc.).

So, I think that even though your county has a burn ban, you still might be able to get a permit to burn. I just don't know if you can make it happen fast enough to get your burning done before the buds swell.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: See Page 2 here for the applicable info on exceptions
scottokla
13 years ago
My understanding is our ban is for 7 days only, so I'll wait to see if it is extended. I was going to burn tomorrow early while still calm since it will be too windy for my comfort later.

Last week I had a huge fire on Wednesday night, left it alone during the fire warning day, and then finished it overnight Thurday night when the wind went away. We have almost nothing except green clover in the fire areas, so I feel safe unless the gusts are over 20.

Last year during the ban I was driving home and saw a ranch being burned off in an organized way, so I know they make exceptions.
adellabedella_usa
13 years ago
Thanks! I bookmarked it.

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