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(KXNET) — If road construction is considered North Dakota’s “Fifth Season,” the annual wildfire season should easily be the “Sixth Season.”
With most of the snow gone and warm, windy weather moving in, dry conditions re-appear, upping the chances for wildfires and out of control burns.
To get ahead of the fire dangers, counties declare fire emergencies and issue burn ban restrictions.
Stark and Williams counties have done just that, issuing countywide proclamations effective today, May 2.
The Williams County Board of Commissioners declared a Fire Emergency and set the Williams County Burn Ban to be in effect from May 2 through July 31.
The burn ban goes into effect:
- When the North Dakota Rangeland Fire Danger Rating is Very High or Extreme
- When a Red Flag Warning has been issued by the National Weather Service for Williams County
The burn ban includes the ignition of fireworks, burning of leaves, grass clippings, garbage/pits, construction debris, fallen trees, crop residue or hay land, sloughs, campfires, bonfires and recreation fires.
During the burn ban, unnecessary off-road motorized travel is not allowed.
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The use of controlled devices is allowed if they are located on a hard, non-organic surface at least 15 feet away from vegetation and a fire extinguisher or water is available on-site.
Controlled devices include items such as gas, charcoal, wood-fired/pellet grills, gas patio fireplaces and chimneys, gas camp stoves, and smokers/pellet grills.
For more information, you can visit the Burning in Williams County webpage.
Meanwhile, a fire emergency and burn restriction proclamation from the Stark County Burn Ban Committee and the County Commission also goes into effect May 2.
The burn restriction will go into effect whenever:
- The North Dakota Rangeland Fire rating is in the High, Very High, or Extreme category
- A Red Flag Warning has been issued for Stark County
- It is deemed necessary by the Stark County Burn Ban Committee.
The Rangeland Fire Rating is issued daily and can be found at www.starkcountynd.gov/fire or
https://ndresponse.gov/burn-ban-restrictions-fire-danger-maps#firedangerratingmap.
The burn restriction includes the ignition of fireworks; tree branches; cropland
burning; garbage burning; campfires; and unnecessary off-road motorized travel.
Excluded from the burn restriction are gas grills and pellet smokers. When using gas grills or pellet smokers, the unit must be on a non-combustible surface and monitored at all times.
