HANCOCK COUNTY — With the county in a period of drought, Hancock County Emergency Management is advising residents to avoid open burning and take extra precautions around any outdoor activities involving fire.
While it’s not a formal ban on burning, emergency management officials are asking people to refrain from “open burning of any kind using conventional fuel such as wood or any other combustible material, with the exception of grills fueled by charcoal briquettes or propane,” according to a post on its Facebook page.
With several weeks having passed without much rain, the county’s fire chiefs reported an uptick in calls and asked the emergency management agency to put out a notice about the issue, said Greg Duda, public information officer for the agency.
“It’s so dry right now that they want everyone to be extra cautious,” Duda said.
September was the driest on record, according to the National Weather Service, and October is off to a dry start as well. Since Sept. 1, only 0.12 inches of rain has fallen, according to weather service data.
Greenfield Fire Chief Brian Lott said the county has seen a number of concerning fires caused by open burning, including one that spread over 15 acres of a farm field in Buck Creek Township. Fortunately, the crop of beans had already been harvested.
“We’ve got drought conditions, and we’ve had a rash of field fires and grass fires over the past few weeks,” Lott said.
If people are planning on holding bonfires or any other outdoor activity involving fire, Duda asked that they exercise caution and tend to the flames as much as possible. He said he was not expecting conditions to improve in the next few weeks, and the threat might increase as weather gets colder.
Many fires are caused by trash burning or outdoor smoking, Duda noted.
Lott said many counties in Indiana have already instituted burn bans because of dry conditions across the state. He said he was hoping for rain over the weekend. If that doesn’t happen, the county commissioners should consider a formal burn ban, he said.
County commissioner John Jessup said the commissioners had declined to issue a burn ban that would penalize people at this time.
“We don’t feel like at this time, another ban or restriction on people’s freedoms is necessary,” Jessup said.
For now, Lott hopes residents will use common sense.
“If nothing else, it’s saying ‘Hey, think twice before you burn a pile of something in your backyard,’” he said.
For updates, residents can follow facebook.com/hancockemergencymanagement.