Dry conditions lead to burn ban
County Judge Rick Davis issued a burn ban Monday for the unincorporated areas of Garland County due to “excessive dry weather.”
Garland and Saline counties in central Arkansas and Johnson and Pope counties in the northwest part of the state were under burn bans Monday afternoon, according to the Arkansas Forestry Commission.
Preliminary climate data on file with the National Weather Service shows the recording station at Hot Springs Memorial Field reported a total of 3.19 inches of rain in June, which is 1.53 inches below normal.
Hot Springs’ temperature reached above the century mark on two days in June, with 102 on June 27 and 101 on June 28.
Still, with many days not reaching into the 90s in June, the average monthly temperature was only 0.4
degrees above normal.
So far, in July, preliminary climate data shows rainfall at 0.98 inches below normal.
Bill Chaney, AFC fire management officer, said Monday that, as of July 5, the Keetch- Byrum Drought Index for District 5, which includes Garland and Saline counties, was at 606. He said the index “is kind of a measure of how dry it is getting.”
“It starts getting pretty serious around 500. We haven’t received any rain, so I expect that number to be a little higher,” he said.
According to the U. S. Forest Service website, the index represents a moisture regime from zero to 8 inches of water through the soil layer, with zero being the point of no moisture deficiency. At any point along the scale, the index number indicates the amount of net rainfall required to reduce the index to zero.
Chaney said the state’s fire danger level “is definitely” getting higher, and all areas of the state, except District 3 in the Delta region, considered in a moderate fire danger. District 3 is still in a low fire danger.
“That means we’re starting to have a few little fires,” Chaney said, adding that one fire last week on the Garland- Hot Spring county line “was fairly large,” but the exact acreage has not been determined.
“I understand that fire may have been burning for two or three days,” he said.
Sherry Russell, AFC dispatch supervisor, said Garland County only had two fires in June that burned 6 acres, while Saline County had one fire that burned 8 acres. There have been two fires that burned a total of 5 acres in both counties since July 1, she said, but that number will change when last week’s fire acreage is determined.
“But the thing is, it’s starting to dry out and there’s no rain,” she said.
While no outdoor burning is allowed under a burn ban, people in areas without a ban should be aware of conditions around them if they are burning anything, Russell said.
Jerry Soard, fire staff officer for the Forest Service, said Monday there are no fire restrictions right now on the Ouachita and Ozark- St. Francis national forests.
“We just ask that people who do have campfires be careful,” he said.
Soard said the fire danger is generally moderate in the national forests, but “we’re rising fast and approaching a higher danger level.”
“Right now, a lot of the grass and herb layer has not cured out completely and that hinders the spread of a fire. Our biggest fire days right now are high wind events or if there is a lot of slope involved,” he said.
Soard said Forest Service employees are still working standard days, but if rain is not received soon, extended staffing will go into effect.
“We’ll have actual fire people doing more patrols and working in the forest and being more readily available to respond,” he said.
While the forest “is in much better shape than last year at this time,” Soard said the KBDI indicates it is running between 450 and 550.
“What that shows is the amount of rain we’d need to get the soil back to saturation, and it’s a pretty good indicator of the fire danger,” Soard said.
The Garland County ban will remain in effect until “a substantial rainfall or other conditions create a less hazardous situation” in the county, Davis said in his order.
The order makes it unlawful to “burn, or cause to be burned, any leaves, trash, forest vegetation, or combustible material of any kind, or to permit any such fire or burning” within the unincorporated areas of the county during the burn ban without a permit.
The ban includes the use of fireworks, and outdoor cooking unless a covered grill is used.
“As long as there are no open flames, it’s OK,” Davis said Monday.
Hot Springs officials initiated a burn ban within the city limits on Friday.