With an active burn ban in place, Garvin County officials say they have received a lot of questions recently regarding prescribed fire, sometimes referred to as controlled burning, that is allowed to take place when a burn ban is in effect.
An essential land management tool for many agricultural producers, prescribed burning can be used to improve forage for livestock, control pests and invasive plant species, recycle nutrients back into the soil, and even to reduce wildfire risk by removing old, dead vegetation, according to Garvin County Extension Director Melissa Koesler.
“It’s just so beneficial to the land for so many reasons,” Koesler said.
The best time for a prescribed fire depends on the goal, but is often in late winter and early spring while vegetation is still dormant. In Oklahoma that usually coincides with high fire danger season and dry conditions, leaving county officials trying to balance the needs of local agricultural producers with reducing the threat of wildfires and protecting the property of county residents as they consider implementing burn ban restrictions.
Because agriculture is such a big part of Oklahoma industry, lawmakers have included a very clear exemption in state statutes for prescribed fire use by landowners and ag producers during a burn ban, Garvin County’s Emergency Management Director David Johnson said.
The statute (Section 16-26.4, Title 2, O.S.) allows for agricultural producers burning “cropland, rangeland, forests or pastures,” as part of a plan for managing property to be exempted from county commissioner issued burn bans if they follow certain procedures.
That includes submitting a written prescribed burn plan to their local fire department at least 72 hours prior to a prescribed burn. The plan must include detailed information about how the prescribed burn will be conducted, the area to be burned, adjacent firebreaks, weather conditions and a list of adjacent landowners.
The statute also requires producers planning a prescribed burn to notify adjacent landowners, as well as the county sheriff and the dispatch center of the local fire department closest to the area to be burned prior to conducting the burn.
“They have to know which way the wind is blowing, which way the smoke will go, what the humidity will be, and if anything changes, they have to shut the process down,” Johnson said.
“But if they follow the procedure, then really, they’re good. We can’t tell them not to burn.”
The prescribed burn plan exemption does not apply to any other type of fire, include campfires, debris or brush pile burning, according to the statute.
Garvin County’s current burn ban resolution remains in effect through April 6 and prohibits outdoor burning including campfires, bonfires and burning trash.
Gas grills and charcoalfired cooking in a grill receptacle are permitted as long as the grill is on a non-flammable surface and at least five feet from flammable vegetation.
The resolution also includes specific provisions for using equipment related to welding, road construction projects and oilfield and landfill activities.
Anyone with questions about the current burn ban resolution or prescribed burns can call the Garvin County Dispatch Center’s non-emergency number at 405-238-9900, or their local fire department for more information. Additional information on prescribed fire is also available through the Garvin County Extension Office, 405-2386681.