The Garvin County Board of Commissioners voted Monday to amend a countywide burn ban to include an exception allowing agricultural producers to conduct prescribed burns.
The exception, included in a new 14-day burn ban resolution, allows agricultural producers to conduct prescribed burns if they follow Oklahoma Forestry Service guidelines as outlined in state statutes (Section 16-26.4, Title 2, O.S.).
In recent weeks, county commissioners have been trying to find a way to balance the needs of local agricultural producers, many of whom manage their pastures and rangelands with prescribed burning and need to do that before native grasses come out of dormancy, with the need to reduce the threat of wildfires and protect the property of county residents in the midst of extremely dry conditions.
Garvin County is currently in severe to extreme drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a designation that is not likely to be significantly affected by the 1-inch of rainfall most parts of the county received Tuesday night.
The county has been under a burn ban since Dec. 13, except for a one-week period earlier this month, when the commissioner’s resolution was allowed to lapse, primarily to try to provide a window for ag producers to get those prescribed burns in.
The statute referenced in the resolution passed Monday 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 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.
The prescribed burn plan exemption does not include campfires, debris or pile burning, according to the statute.
“Oklahoma has a really good prescribed burn policy that protects landowners,” Brandon Chandler, with the Stratford Fire Department, told the group of fire officials and agricultural producers present at Monday’s meeting. “If you’re just lighting a brush pile, we would call that a controlled burn. If you’re writing a burn plan so that you can help manage the landscape and the ecosystem on your property, that’s what we’re talking about – a prescribed burn. I think that’s the big clarification I wanted to make is that a prescribed burn is a lot different than someone calling in a controlled burn for a brush pile.”
Monday’s resolution continues to prohibit outdoor burning including campfires, bonfires and burning trash.
Gas grills and charcoal-fired 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. Extreme caution should be exercised even with permissible outdoor grilling when high wind conditions exist.
Penalties for violating the burn ban can include a fine of up to $500 and up to a year in jail.
In addition to the prescribed burn exception, the resolution also includes specific exceptions for using equipment related to welding, road construction projects and oilfield and landfill activities:
•Welders, grinders and cutting torches may be used over a non-combustible surface of at least 10 feet by 10 feet. When welding, blankets or screens must be used to cover flammable vegetation, wind speeds must be less than 20 mph, and an additional fire watcher must be posted at the site with pressurized water or a fire extinguisher.
•Road construction equipment using propane or another controlled-type burner is generally considered safe, but crews should have a water pumper on standby when equipment is used near a grassy right-of-way.
•Gas vents and flares associated with the extraction of oil and gas are considered exempt as long as the top of the vent pipe is raised well above the surrounding vegetation. Sludge pits should not be burned while the ban is in effect, and fire training exercises within confines of refinery boundaries are exempt from the ban.
Anyone with questions about the 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.