Catoosa, Walker counties ban outdoor burning
Exceptional drought conditions throughout the Southeast have fueled widespread wildfires throughout the region, prompting local governments to institute burning restrictions.
Following the state’s declaration of an emergency, Catoosa County’s Board of Commissioners last week adopted a resolution that makes any open burning illegal.
“This expands on the usual restrictions,” County Attorney Chad Young said when presenting the resolution for commission consideration.
In addition to usual provisions against burning of building material and garbage — things that are prohibited year round — the ban means no open fires of any kind are permitted until the risk of wildfire has receded.
Though the May 1-through-Oct. 1 seasonal burn ban has expired, individuals must obtain a permit from the Georgia Forestry Commission on any day they want to conduct an open burn.
While weather conditions have precluded any permits being issued, the resolution adopted Nov. 15 means no open cooking fires, bonfires, campfires or warming fires will be allowed until the ban has been lifted. The previous week, Walker County Commissioner Bebe Heiskell issued a countywide burn ban and Ringgold’s City Council had issued a similar edict enforceable within that municipality.
Gov. Nathan Deal has issued an order prohibiting the use of commercial fireworks indefinitely in 110 of Georgia’s 159 counties while many of the state’s fields and woodlands are tinder dry.
“Over the preceding six months, many areas of the state of Georgia have experienced significant drought conditions and there have been numerous instances of uncontrolled fires that seriously threaten the welfare of citizens of this state,” the order reads.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam has issued a 51-county regional burn ban — one that includes nearly the entire eastern portion of the state.
The Tennessee Valley Authority has banned anything that might produce an open flame on all its public lands in parts of Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina and Virginia.