Burn ban returns to 59 counties, including Limestone

Published 9:21 pm Monday, August 20, 2007

Tinderbox conditions throughout the state have prompted the Alabama Forestry Commission to issue a no-burn order for 59 counties.

Limestone is included, along with the surrounding counties of Morgan, Madison and Lauderdale.

Athens Fire Chief Cliff Christopher said that he doesn’t believe conditions are as bad as those that prompted an earlier no-burn order in June. He said most residents have been good about not burning outside, and the city has not had many calls.

“Ironically, we got our new brush truck and on Friday night, just after they got the pump and the tank on, we got a call out at Windsor Apartments for a grass fire,” Christopher said.

Derrick Gatlin, president of the Limestone Association of Volunteer Firefighters, said Sunday’s brief rain might have helped alleviate some of the problem, but until the state lifts the order, residents should use caution.

Under the no-burn order, it is illegal to set fire to any forest, grass, woods, wild lands or marshes to build a campfire, bonfire or to burn debris or other material that may cause a forest, grass or woods fire, until said declaration is lifted.”

  According to State Forester Casey, the no-burn order was a result of the prolonged drought that most of the state has experienced this year.

The extremely dry conditions have created an atmosphere where the probability of catastrophic fire activity is high.

“Over the past couple of weeks we’ve seen an increase in not only the number of wildfires that we have had, but several of them have been very large fires,” Casey explained. “Some of these fires have directly threatened homes and if not for the efforts of Commission firefighters and volunteer fire departments we would have lost homes.”