The Washington County Commissioners joined nine other counties around the state today to enact a burn ban due to dry conditions.
The counties are: Shelby, Franklin, Dearborn, Ohio, Switzerland, Martin, Lawrence, Washington and Perry Counties.
Only Northern Indiana is under a Drought Advisory from the National Weather Service due to extreme dry conditions and having received less than 25% of normal precipitation over the last month.
The proclamation was signed this morning at 11a and prohibits the following in Washington County:
- Campfires and other recreational fires.
- Open burning of any kind using conventional fuel such as wood, or other combustible matter, except for grills fueled by charcoal or propane.
- Charcoal from permitted grills shall not be removed from the grills until the charcoal has been thoroughly extinguished.
- The burning of debris, such as timber or vegetation, results from building construction activities.
In addition, the Commissioners encourage residents to attend public displays of fireworks and limit their personal use of fireworks to those that do not have the ground, and that they refrain from using aerial firework devices.
The National Weather Service has predicted a small chance of rain for the area this Tuesday and Wednesday.
WSLM will alert the public when the burn ban has been lifted.
