County lifts burn ban

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

At the recommendation of several local fire chiefs, the Putnam County Commissioners lifted the countywide burn ban on Monday evening.

Putnam County Emergency Management Director Tom Helmer told the commissioners he recently met with seven local fire chiefs, who recommended lifting the ban by a 5-2 margin.

As recently as Friday morning, the county Emergency Management Agency discussed keeping the ban in place. The consensus was that recent rain has helped the situation, but that yearly rainfall totals remained well below their average mark.

However, the majority of the chiefs agreed to lifting the ban, with the understanding it could be put back into place should drought conditions continue and rain stop.

Commissioners Nancy Fogle and Gene Beck voted 2-0 in favor of the measure. Commissioner Kristina Warren was not present at Monday's meeting.

Helmer noted that the chiefs also recommended the public use caution in outside burns due to the continuing dry conditions.

The county burn ban affects only unincorporated areas. So far, the towns of Roachdale, Cloverdale, Russellville and Bainbridge have lifted their burn bans.

As of Tuesday afternoon, bans remained in place for the town of Fillmore.

No burn ban was put in place for the City of Greencastle, as the Greencastle Fire Department already enforces stricter guidelines for open burns.

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