HANCOCK COUNTY — While fall is the season for bonfires, camping out, grilling and enjoying the great outdoors, as of early September, weather officials say approximately 50% (18,270 square miles) of Indiana is under drought conditions and 41% (15,011 square miles) is abnormally dry.
Due to the extremely dry conditions in Hancock County, a burning ban has been placed into effect as of Wednesday. This ban will be in place until conditions have improved. County residents have been asked to avoid open burning of any kind using conventional fuel such as wood or any other combustible material.
County Commissioners voted during their Tuesday meeting to put the ban into place. Officials from Hancock County Homeland Security posted the notice Tuesday afternoon and said they’re serious about enforcing the ban to keep the county safe because it is extremely dry and that’s a bad and dangerous situation for everyone.
“Anything with an open flame that is not contained is highly discouraged,” Hancock County 911 Public Information Officer Greg Duda said. “We don’t want open flames where embers can fly off, land and start something because obviously everything is extremely dry.”
The exception is grills fueled by charcoal briquettes or propane that are enclosed in a grill container with a lid.
Weather officials note that Southern Indiana is in a moderate drought with crop growth stunted and water levels dropping while Northern Indiana is abnormally dry in several spots
Indianapolis only received five hundredths of an inch of rain in September while a normal September would see over three inches.
Local Homeland Security officials say they reached out to local fire chiefs and discussed the burn ban asking officials for their view before putting the ban in place.
“Greenfield has already had a couple of what we classify as mulch fires, and those usually start probably from a discarded cigarette, and because everything is so darn dry it just speeds so quickly” Duda said. “We’ve had those in medians along state street even near some restaurants, so that was kind of the catalyst when you have simple things flaring and going up.”
Greenfield Fire Territory Fire Marshal Steve Kropacek noted the dry weather is indeed a huge problem.
“Simply because even the smallest ember can really create a huge problem and in a hurry,” Kropacek said. “It can happen with field fire, especially when people discard those cigarettes out the car, and that can be a real problem due to the grass being so dry.”
Kropacek noted a fire ban is a big deal due to the fact it means conditions are extremely dangerous, and he and other safety officials hope community residents take the ban seriously.
“We are trying to avoid a huge fire problem, and I know most people think it’s just a problem out west with those huge fires, but it can happen anywhere, especially in these conditions,” Kropacek said. “We don’t have forest around here, but we do have conditions that are dangerous.”
Duda noted everyone’s grass is “crispy and crunchy,” right now and a fire can flare up quickly if sparked and it’s best to be safe rather than sorry right now and adhere to the burn ban.
“If you see people doing an open burn or doing something unsafe, always call the non-emergency or 911 number and we’ll get the fire department out there to make sure everything is done safely,” Duda said. “Even if you have a screen and are doing everything safely, the fire department is still probably going to ask you to put it out because it’s so dry, it’s best just to say everything but a grill is so dangerous and it’s only going to get worse with no real rain in sight.”
