Ohio’s open burn ban extended, expanded as drought conditions continue

OHIO — As Ohio continues to see drought conditions, the state is extending and expanding its open burn ban to include more counties.

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The state announced today that Franklin, Lawrence, Licking, Madison, and Noble counties have been added to the state’s ban on open burning.

The five new counties join Athens, Belmont, Carroll, Fairfield, Fayette, Gallia, Guernsey, Harrison, Highland, Hocking, Jackson, Jefferson, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Muskingum, Perry, Pickaway, Pike, Ross, Scioto, Tuscarawas, Vinton, and Washington counties, all of which were part of the original ban put into place last week.

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The counties that are part of the ban have been identified by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) or United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as being in the “Extreme Drought” or “Exceptional Drought” categories as identified by the United States Drought Monitoring System.

The following activities are prohibited under the burn ban:

• Any open burning of trash, debris, waste, combustibles, leaf piles or similar vegetation
• Campfires and bonfires
• Throwing down or discarding lit or smoldering material, such as matches or cigarettes
• Using or discharging any type of fireworks
• Live-fire training events
• Flame effect(s) based displays or exhibitions, including sky lanterns and cold spark machines
• Using spark- or heat-producing devices for recreational purposes

“Acceptable open flame-related activities include indoor cooking, outdoor cooking with electric stoves/cooking elements or propane/liquid fueled cooking as permitted in this Order, and use of non-flame-based heating or electrical devices,” a spokesperson for the Division of State Fire Marshal said.

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