A Burn Ban is now in effect for Johnson County as drought conditions continue.
The Johnson County Commissioners have issued a temporary, seven-day county-wide Burn Ban. The order issued by County Commissioner Brian Baird on Tuesday is effective immediately and lasts for seven days, until Sept. 24th.
Through the burn ban, officials declared the county at risk of “widespread fire hazards” due to the county being categorized as being in “abnormally dry” and “moderate drought” conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. There is also little chance of rain in the coming days, the order says.
The order also says it’s being issued after Johnson County Emergency Management Director Stephanie Sichting requested it, and after “certain fire protection districts and departments” had already had to respond to field fires in the last week.
The following activities are now prohibited in the county, according to the order:
- Campfires and any form of recreation fire unless said fires are enclosed in a fire ring measuring at least 23 inches in diameter and 10 inches or more in height and personally and directly attended to.
- Open burning of any kind using wood or any other combustible matter, with the exception of grills fueled by charcoal briquettes or propane gas. Charcoal from grills shall not be removed from a grill until the charcoal has been thoroughly extinguished.
- Open burning of any kind of debris, such as timber, vegetation, building construction waste or otherwise. And
- Subject to Indiana Code 22-11-14-10.5, the usage of consumer fireworks.
The ban is enforceable by any sworn law enforcement officer. Its provisions also supersede any municipal ordinance to the contrary while it is in effect, the order shows.
For now, the ban only lasts until Sept. 24, but it could be extended by a two-thirds vote of the three-member Board of Commissioners. The next commissioners’ meeting is Monday.
While the order filed with the Johnson County Clerk shows the date as effective Sept. 9, this is an error. The order was actually signed Tuesday, County Attorney Adam Gadberry said.
An order with the correct date will be filed Wednesday, Gadberry said.
With the issuing of the order, Johnson County becomes the 34th Indiana county to issue a county-wide burn ban. Three of Johnson County’s neighbors — Bartholomew, Brown and Shelby counties — have also issued burn bans, according to the Indiana Department of Homeland Security.
High temperatures are forecast to be in the upper 80s to around 90 through Saturday, before highs drop to the lower 80s and on Monday. The next chance of rain is on Monday night with a 20% chance of thunderstorms, according to the National Weather Service.
