Published: April 14, 2009 09:53 am      

Burn ban is history for now

Pauls Valley — A ban throughout all of Garvin County on outdoor burning is history — at least for now — thanks to some much needed rain this past weekend.

After a one-week return of the ban all three county commissioners voted Monday to call off the measure.

The trio stressed they didn’t actually have a choice in the matter since the guidelines allowing for a ban won’t allow it this week because of the recent rains passing through the county as a spring weather system moved through Oklahoma and the region.

With that rain dampening the area and more of the wet stuff possibly on the way later this week, District 3 Commissioner Johnny Mann said the current outdoor conditions does not meet the established criteria for a burn ban.

“You can have one but you can’t enforce it,” said Mann, who also serves as the volunteer fire chief in Stratford.

The guidelines allowing for commissioners to call for a countywide ban come from the Oklahoma Forestry Services.

Passed into law last year, commissioners can only implement a ban for seven days at a time.

To do that they must show there’s an “extreme fire danger” based on four parameters.

One includes “moderate, severe or extreme drought conditions exist within the county as determined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.”

Another is “no more than one-half inch of precipitation is forecast by the National Weather Service for the next three days,” which is the provision related to rainfall this past weekend with even more predicted for later this week.

The remaining two are focused on wildfires.

Commissioners must also document a majority of the county’s municipal and certified rural fire departments agree that a high fire danger calls for a ban on outdoor burning.

For this week five of six fire officials contacted Monday by employees in the commissioners’ Pauls Valley office indicated a desire to call off the ban.

The original outdoor burning ban was first requested by members of the Garvin County Fire Chiefs Association and approved by commissioners back on Dec. 8. It went through March 16 before making a seven-day return last week.