Des Moines, IOWA — The State Fire Marshal reminds Iowans two-thirds of the state remains under a burn ban.  (A chart of the affected counties can be found at http://www.dps.state.ia.us/fm/main/burnbans/index.shtml) In the KJAN listening area, that includes Cass, Audubon, Pottawattamie, Mills, Montgomery, Madison, Carroll, Crawford, Fremont, Page and Taylor Counties. Shelby County is not included in a burn ban, but the County is under a HIGH FIRE DANGER alert.

With this in mind, State Fire Marshal Ray Reynolds is offering more information on the most common questions submitted to his office on camp fires, community fireworks shows, and issuing citations for violations of a burn ban.

Law enforcement and fire officials have issued citations throughout Iowa for violations of Iowa code 100.40.  Violating a state issued burn ban is a simple misdemeanor requiring an appearance in court.  Reynolds says they have received “Several calls from fire and police agencies asking about issuing citations to violators of the burn ban.” He says it’s his goal to warn Iowans that this is not the time to burn, so they aren’t faced with a citation.  Reynolds said however, that “We haven’t seen such lengthy burn bans or such dry conditions for some time,”  so he anticipates more citations in the coming weeks.

He offered some common sense advice during burn bans:
1) In many places, camp fires are permitted if supervised and contained in an enclosed area with brick, metal, or grate lining to prevent fires from escaping the confines of the fire pit.  Again, direct supervision is the key!  Even if you think the fire is extinguished when done, add water or sand to be sure. Be sure to check with your local fire department as some cities or counties may not permit open recreational fires during a burn ban.
2) Community fireworks are permitted with added safety precautions.  Things like wetting a hillside or establishing a fire watch with extinguishers are good preventative steps.  However, cities and fireworks blasters hold 100% of the liability for fires.
3) The fact a person wants to burn brush and has years of experience burning brush doesn’t necessitate open burning.  Very few controlled fires are necessary or required.  If a permit has been issued by the local fire chief, all fire prevention precautions should be implemented to prevent a controlled fire from becoming uncontrolled.

State Fire Inspector Dan Wood said “We are asking for people to use a little common sense when striking the match. “he adage, ‘Only you can prevent forest fires.’ holds true especially with these dangerously dry conditions, ” according to Wood.

The number of vegetation fires in the first six months of 2012 has exceeded all of the grass fires for 2010 and has nearly reached the 2011 year end total.  You can learn more about vegetative fires from Iowa’s fire reporting data.

If citizens have questions on the issuance of a burn ban in a region of the state, they can visit the State Fire Marshal Website to identify the local authority requesting the burn ban in that area.