By Joy Hampton
February 3, 2009 — Residents violating a burn ban issued by Rogers County Commissioners Monday could be fined up to $500. Fire danger is high despite last week’s icy precipitation.
Undersheriff Tom Harrison confirmed Rogers County deputies have been instructed to issue citations to those violating the burn ban.
Firefighters battled grass fires on Sunday that burned over 1,500 acres in Rogers County despite a burn ban issued last week by county commissioners.
On Monday commissioners reissued that burn ban at the request of local firefighters who say lives and property are at stake despite a recent ice and snow storm.
“It takes about a foot of snow to equal an inch of rainfall,” said Rogers County Emergency Management Director Bob Anderson. “We got about one-eighth of an inch moisture from the ice storm last week. That’s not a lot of moisture.”
Anderson said it takes more than two inches of actual ground moisture to offset the fire danger. He said grass fires can actually burn under ice.
“Dead grass does not collect moisture,” said Northwest Fire Chief David Puckett. “Mud doesn’t mean the county is safe from fire.”
“Some citations may have to be written,” said Foyil Fire Chief Randy Atchley.
Claremore Fire Chief Mark Dowler agreed, noting that two firefighters were treated at the burn center this weekend due to injuries sustained fighting grass fires. Those firefighters were not from Rogers County, but Dowler said he is concerned that lives and property are at risk.
“I think we need to put some teeth in this,” said Dowler. “Warnings are going to cost someone his life.”
Commissioners said they had gotten calls regarding the burn ban and that Rogers County Sheriff’s deputies were reluctant to write citations for a ban they had not been aware was in place.
The Progress reported last week on the ban, but incoming ice and snow made many residents think the fire danger had passed. Commissioners and firefighters said fire danger remains high. There is a lot of fuel on the ground in the form of dead grass, leaves and other dry debris, they said.
Anderson recommends that residents clear leaves and dead vegetation from around homes, barns, and outbuildings.
“Create a perimeter around your house,” said Anderson.
Commissioners and firefighters discussed publicizing the burn ban through local media. Local newspapers, radio and television stations will be asked to run notices regarding the ban. Fire station marquee signs will also alert people that there is a ban.
The Sheriff’s Department was asked to issue citations — not warnings — to get the point across.
District Attorney Gene Haynes, along with Assistant District Attorney Barry Farbro, advised commissioners on their newly granted legal authority to establish a county-wide burn ban. Haynes said the county-issued ban “carries the same penalties as a government-issued burn ban.”
Farbro drafted a “comprehensive resolution” for use whenever commissioners deem it necessary to declare a burn ban, said Haynes.
The resolution cites Title 20 section 16-26 which gives county commissioners the power to declare a seven-day ban based on specific conditions including “moderate, severe or extreme drought” as determined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, no more than 1/2 inch of precipitation forecast by the National Weather Service for the next three days, a “fire occurrence... significantly greater than normal..”, and with “more than 20-percent of wildfires in the county... caused by escaped debris burning or controlled burning activities.”
Commissioners are also to document that a “majority of the county’s municipal and certified rural fire departments agree that a period of extreme fire danger exists...”
According to state statute, violators can be charged with a misdemeanor and are subject to a fine up to $500 and up to one year of imprisonment or both.
Anderson said burning trash in Oklahoma is always illegal for most residents. Burning trash is only allowed in places where no trash service is available.
Under the county burn ban, any fire including campfires, bonfires or burning of trash, tree debris or other materials is prohibited.
Gas grills with “no open exposed flames and a hooded cooking area may be used.”
Anderson also warns residents not to dump warm fireplace ashes onto fields, yards, or areas where those ashes could ignite dry or dead vegetation.
