Burning ban lifted

While recent rainfall has done little to alleviate drought conditions around North Carolina, the precipitation did moisten the ground enough for the NC Division of Forest Resources to lift the statewide outdoor burning ban that had been in place since Oct. 15.

The action also means the Halifax County burning ban has also been cancelled.

Brian Haines, a spokesperson for the division, said the ban was lifted on Jan. 2.

“Essentially, we’ve had some rain across the state, while it hasn’t been a great amount of rain, it has been sufficient to wet the ground a bit,” he said. “It (lifting the ban) has given people a chance to get some necessary burning done, including us here at the forest service.”

He said with the ban lifted, the division will be able to carry out some prescribed, or controlled, burns in various areas around the state.

That is important, he said, because when the typically drier, windy conditions of spring and summer roll around all the dead wood and small scrubby plants on the forest floor can spread forest fires quickly.

He said those prescribed burns are done by county rangers and others trained in carrying out that type of work. Haines said that typically, once an areas has been designated for a prescribed burn, forestry officials will come in an remove all the “ladder fuels,” or tall bushes and plants that could spread the fire to the forest canopy.

Once those are removed, what’s left is burned, which eliminates the deadfalls, dead leaves and pine needles, and underbrush without burning the taller, older trees in the area.

Lifting the ban also allows benefits other people, as well. Haines said some farmers, depending upon their crops, will burn a field over prior to planting. He said this is especially true of tree farmers hoping to plant a new field. Now, those people will be able to get their work done before the spring planting season.

He said lifting the ban also will allow rangers to focus on aspects of their jobs. With the burning ban in place, he said they were obligated to investigate every time they saw a column of smoke, even if it turned out the burning was legal.

Even with the burning ban in place, some outdoor burning had still been permitted, because the state code allows for local governments to control outdoor burning within 100 feet of a private residence.

Halifax County placed its own ban on outdoor burning in early December, eliminating even the private residence burning. Halifax County Fire Marshal Jim Davis said the extreme dry conditions had made the chance of a private fire getting out of control to hazardous for any outdoor burning. He said the Halifax ban would last until the statewide ban was lifted.

Haines said the lifting of the ban does not mean outdoor burning will be legal indefinitely.

“We are monitoring the situation on a daily basis,” he said. “If we see an increase in wildfires, then that ban can always be put back in place. It’s incumbent on people to use their heads when burning.

“If you’re going to do any types of burning, one of the things you want to do is check the weather. If it’s windy, you don’t really want to be out there. If it’s a code orange or code red (indicating high pollution levels), it’s actually illegal to burn. … and keep fire tools available. Have a garden hose nearby, a steel rake, a shovel for throwing dirt on the fire … and if you see the fire is getting a little too large, suppress it.”

His final word of advice is, when burning, never leave a fire unattended.

“Always stay with the fire until it’s extinguished. A lot of times people will go in for dinner, and the next thing you know the woods next to their house are on fire.”

For more information, or to get a free outdoor burning permit, visit http://www.dfr.state.nc.us/