Open Burning Can Be Dangerous in the Fall

Forest fires are a serious threat to lives and property in the U.S. The combination of drought, warmer temperatures, high winds and an excess of dried vegetation in forests and grasslands has made fire seasons progressively worse over the past 50 years. In the past decade, wildfires have burned over 59 million acres of these lands. According to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), 2012 saw one of the worst fire seasons in decades, with over nine million acres burned. 2013 saw more than 47,000 wildfires burn over 4.3 million acres.

Open-burning is particularly dangerous in the spring and fall, when the leaves are on the ground, the grass is not green and the weather is warm, dry and windy. As a result, open burning in Ohio is prohibited in unincorporated areas in March, April, May, October, and November, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

You should always call your local fire department for information about local burning regulations.

Captain Jamie Jones, supervisor of the Meigs County 911 Center, also recommends that you contact the Dispatch Center at (740) 992-6619 (Ext. 5) if you will be burning in the county so that emergency services are aware if they receive a call. The 911 Center often receives “false-alarms” that result in fire departments being dispatched to a controlled burn. This increases costs for the local townships, wastes manpower and resources and places responders at risk as they respond to the scene. In Bedford Township, where the township depends on Scipio Township to provide Fire Service, the property owner faces responsibility for the cost of the responding agencies. On average that is a cost of around $600.00 for the land-owner.

Ohio EPA notification is required for many types of open burning in Ohio. Call 614-644-2270 with questions on rules and to find your local EPA office or you can follow this link: http://epa.ohio.gov/portals/47/facts/openburn.pdf