Ringgold issues ban
The growing number of wildfires has prompted the city of Ringgold to ban on all outdoor burning.
The decision was made during the City Council’s Nov. 14 meeting, where councilman Randall Franks pointed out the importance of the ban considering all the wildfires harming North Georgia and the Chattanooga, Tenn., area.
“I serve on the local emergency planning committee and this issue came up at our meeting last week as far as the issues we’re having throughout our region,” Franks said. “I’ll make a motion that we put in place a local complete burn ban giving us the discretion to take it off when advised by our EMA (Emergency Management Agency).”
The council unanimously approved the motion.
Catoosa County on Nov. 15 instituted a
similar ban.
According to Catoosa County Fire & Rescue Division Chief Steve Quinn, the state
has already stopped issuing burn permits to residents due to the wildfire issue, but hopes the county, like Ringgold, will cease all outdoor burning for the time being.
“Ordinarily you’d
have to call and get a burn permit for legal burning,” Quinn said. “Small fires in fire pits for hot dogs, marshmallows, and things like that don’t typically require a permit, but hopefully
we can get the ban passed tonight.”
Those who don’t adhere to the bans could be subject to fines from city and county code enforcement, or the Georgia Forestry Commission.
“The fire department doesn’t hand out tickets or anything, but we do try to make people of aware of the bans if they don’t know about them,” Quinn said. “If we get a call and tell someone who might
not have known about the ban, it’s not big deal. But if we have to respond to calls at the same place two or three times, it’d become a code enforcement or Department of Forestry issue.”