County burn ban turns First Night ‘boom’ into bust
Posted on Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Washington County’s ongoing burn ban will also mean a ban on First Night fireworks. "It’s our finale; but there’s so much going on that night that we’re not too worried about it," said Morgan Hicks, First Night event coordinator.
The burn ban, which has been in effect for about 45 days, will remain in effect until the county receives at least one inch of rainfall or more over the entire county, reported County Fire Marshal John Jenkins Tuesday.
He doesn’t think that will happen anytime soon. Neither does Joe Sellers, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tulsa, Okla. "It appears right now that any significant rainfall is not going to be enough to meet that demand," said Jenkins. "Unfortunately, we’re in such an unusually dry year," he said Tuesday afternoon from his office. "We’re just continually having fires every day. I’m sitting here right now listening to three or four different brush fires."
Rainfall in Fayetteville is 15.05 "below normal for the year, according to the meteorologist and 2.39" below normal for December.
The outlook is not good either.
According to Sellers, Fayetteville has a slight chance for some very light rain today, probably less than one tenth of an inch, with only a 20 percent chance of showers Friday and only a slight chance of rain Sunday night. "The outlook through Tuesday of next week is not promising. We will definitely end the year way below normal," said Sellers.
The National Weather Service has issued a warning of the significant risk of fire in Eastern Oklahoma and Northwest Arkansas.
Compounding that threat is the continuation of unseasonably warm daytime highs and gusty south winds, Sellers said.
Jenkins said the Washington County Fire Marshal’s Office consulted with the Arkansas Forestry Commission and both agencies are in agreement that the burn ban must remain in effect.
He said Tuesday that county officials are aware of the economic impact of a burn ban for farmers, construction businesses and others, but it is necessary to protect citizens.
The ban is reviewed frequently, he said, adding that even when people pay attention when they’re burning, the winds and drought conditions make any fire unsafe.
According to Jenkins, even though purchasing fireworks for the New Year celebration is legal; it is illegal to use them as long as the burn ban is in effect. This includes formal events like First Night. "If a rocket lands in a farmer’s hay, right now, he could lose an entire winter’s supply of hay. We have a lot of those fires in barns and hay fires from fireworks," Jenkins said. "We apologize. But, please be patient and keep in mind that it’s not the county government that’s doing this. It’s the weather. If we had any way of correcting this, we would, I assure you," he concluded.
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