(Guthrie Center, Iowa)  – A ban on outdoor burning is in place effective immediately, for Adair County and Guthrie Counties. The ban was implemented at 8-a.m. today (Wednesday, April 12, 2023). The ban prohibits open burning in Adair County and Guthrie County, including all the cities within the counties. The current dry conditions throughout the region have caused an increase in fire responses throughout Adair and Guthrie County. As dry conditions and winds persist, dead and drying vegetation is the perfect fuel to spread fires rapidly.

Adair-Guthrie County Emergency Management Deputy Coordinator Jeremy Cooper says “Adair and Guthrie County Fire Departments have seen the effects of fires in extreme conditions, and we want to do everything we can to help mitigate life threatening incidents from occurring. These Fire Departments are volunteer departments and are responding to numerous calls a day that pull them from their everyday life and work and becomes very taxing on those volunteers.”

During these dry conditions, he says, citizens are reminded to not throw out cigarettes from moving vehicles and to discontinue burning yard waste, piled tree debris or other items during the ban. Small recreational campfires are permitted only if they are conducted in a fireplace of brick, metal or heavy one-inch wire mesh. Any campfire not in an outdoor fireplace or left unattended is prohibited. Fire Departments will still be able to proceed with their scheduled controlled burns of CRP land and citizens can also obtain a burn permit from their local Fire Chief approves such a request and signs the permit.

Violation of a burn ban can subject a person to citation or arrest for reckless use of fire or disobeying a burn ban. For more information on burn bans and the law or to check the current status of burn bans statewide on the State Fire Marshal’s statewide burn ban website: https://dps.iowa.gov/divisions/state-fire-marshal/burn-bans.