Burn bans active in all area counties
State designates regional risk of wildfires as ‘high’
All of Northwest Arkansas is now under a burn ban.
Benton County Judge Barry Moehring issued a countywide burn ban Thursday, two days after Washington County Judge Joseph Wood issued one.
Benton County’s ban on open burning will continue until conditions improve as determined by the county in cooperation with local fire officials, according to Moehring’s order. Benton County officials urge residents to use extreme caution when cooking or grilling outdoors, according to a county news release.
“The best thing that can be done is to put the burn ban on,” Avoca Fire Chief Frankie Elliott said. “It’s real dry.”
Boone, Carroll, Crawford, Franklin, Johnson, Logan, Madison, Newton, Scott and Sebastian counties are also under burn-ban orders, according to the Arkansas Forestry Commission website. Fifty-five of Arkansas’ 75 counties have been placed under a burn ban by local county judges.
It has been a dry month in Northwest Arkansas, the River Valley and much of the rest of the state.
The National Weather Service in Tulsa shows 0.43 inches of rain recorded at Northwest Arkansas National Airport in Highfill on July 2-3. No rain has been recorded at Drake Field in Fayetteville nor at Fort Smith Regional Airport, according to the weather service.
Susan Anglin, a Benton County justice of the peace, and her husband Ryan own about 600 acres west of Bentonville that they use for beef cattle and hay.
“It’s dry, dry, dry,” she said. “Everything is burnt up — the pastures, the fields. It’s a tinderbox.”
Bentonville Fire Department Deputy Chief Kevin Boydston said the city had not seen any uptick in brush or grass fires.
“Most of what we have in the city is developed,” he said. Fire officials recommend residents keep debris picked up as part of yard maintenance, he said.
Violation of a court order declaring a ban on burning is a misdemeanor with a fine between $25 and $1,000, imprisonment in the county jail for not more than 30 days or both, according to a Benton County ordinance.
Benton County is listed as being in a moderate drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. The northern part of Washington County is in a moderate drought and the southern half is listed as abnormally dry.
The drought monitor has been a team effort since its inception in 1999, produced jointly by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of NebraskaLincoln, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, according to its website.
A return to hot and dry weather began Monday and likely will persist through much of next week. A prolonged period of excessive heat is possible this week, which will worsen ongoing drought conditions, according to the weather service.
Wildfire risk increased
The Arkansas Department of Agriculture’s Forestry Division has increased the wildfire danger risk level designations for all 75 counties over the past weeks, according to a news release.
Twelve counties in Northwest Arkansas were raised to the “high” risk level, and the remaining counties were rated as being at “moderate” risk for wildfire danger. There are four risk levels: low, moderate, high and extreme.
“These 90- to 100-degree days with little or no rain have led to extremely dry conditions across the entire state,” said state forester Joe Fox. “We are seeing an increase in the number of wildfires and their intensity, and that’s a trend that will continue until we see significant rainfall statewide.”
July is just the beginning of Arkansas’ wildfire season, which stretches through October.
Sherry Russell, state dispatch supervisor for the Arkansas Department of Agriculture’s Forestry Division, said three wildfires were burning in the state Thursday: in Bradley County west of Warren, in Pike County west of Glenwood and in Marion County northwest of Yellville. She said no structures were at risk. The Forestry Division had two people working each fire, along with firefighters from other agencies.
A burn ban primarily prohibits activities that involve an open flame. This includes fireworks, campfires, trash burning, open flame grilling, and prescribed or controlled burns.
Robert Murphy, director of emergency services for the Forestry Division, recommends taking additional precautions when driving or operating machinery during these dry conditions.
“It’s important to remain cautious when driving through or working in dry grass,” he said. “Trucks, ATVs, hay balers and other vehicles can easily start fires by causing sparks over dry grass.”
The Forestry Division is asking those who see fires to report them by calling 1-800-468-8834.
They are also asking people to avoid flying drones in the area of a fire. When drones are present, people fighting fires can’t perform detection flights or fly singleengine air tankers to drop water.
Visit bit.ly/ARBurnBan to find a county-by-county burn ban map. To learn more about burn bans in your county, find your local official’s contact information at arcounties. org/counties.
While it’s very hot, the weather service warned it could be worse.
“On this day back in 1954, Arkansas was experiencing a heat wave,” the weather service said in a tweet Wednesday. “Ozark reached 116 degrees, which was the hottest temperature in the state since August of 1936. This was the first peak of the brutal heat wave that lasted from June to September of 1954.”