Burning restrictions in place again in Stutsman County

Talk about it

By Kari Lucin

The Jamestown Sun

Restrictions on burning are once again in place for Stutsman County, but people are only prohibited from burning on days when the fire danger index is very high or extreme.

“The burn ban we’re looking at, it’s the very same thing we did in the spring,” said Jerry Bergquist, Stutsman County emergency manager.

He said the county’s fire chiefs unanimously agreed the restrictions should be in place.

“It’s not a burn ban,” said Stutsman County Sheriff Chad Kaiser, pointing out that provided the fire danger index wasn’t very high or extreme, “you can burn — burn all you want.”

The restriction was still called a “burn ban” in the language of the fire emergency declaration and proclamation issued by the Stutsman County Commission Tuesday.

That way, the restrictions can be enforced by law enforcement.

Anyone who violates the restrictions is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 and 30 days in jail.

The restriction on burning goes into effect only when the fire danger index issued by the National Weather Service reaches very high or extreme.

To find out what the fire danger index is, people can visit the county’s website at www.co.stutsman.nd.us and click “Fire Danger Information” on the bottom right of the page.

On Tuesday evening, the fire danger index for Stutsman County was medium, meaning “Weather and fuel conditions indicate some potential of fire occurrence. Moderate spread rate.”

When in effect, the restrictions apply to all open burning, except for propane/gas-, kerosene- or alcohol-burning cooking stoves in residential areas and established recreational camping areas, and except for outdoor welding. Even then, however, people must have ready access to a fire extinguisher.

The restriction includes all the cities in Stutsman County except Jamestown.

By Tuesday evening, many North Dakota counties had burn bans in effect, including Logan, LaMoure and Wells counties.

County commissioners requested Casey Bradley, auditor/chief operating officer, to draft an ordinance that would make the burning restrictions permanent.

That way, burning would be prohibited only when burning conditions are critical or extreme, and fire is likely to spread rapidly.

“It would make it a lot simpler, and we wouldn’t have to educate the public every time,” Bergquist said.

Sun reporter Kari Lucin can be reached at 701-952-8453

or by email at

klucin@jamestownsun.com

Tags: local news, news, fire