State Fire Marshal Orders Ban on Open Burning for drought areas

Columbus, Ohio – In response to extremely dry conditions in various areas of the state, Ohio Fire Marshal Kevin Reardon has ordered a regional Ban on Open Burning effective immediately. The ban impacts any county in Ohio 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 Burn on Open Burning ordered today, Sept. 6, 2024, includes the following Ohio counties: 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. Additional counties may be added upon designation of “Extreme Drought” or “Exceptional Drought” conditions issued by NOAA and/or the USDA within such counties or added by written directive of the State Fire Marshal.

Examples of outdoor activities prohibited by this order in the ban area include the following: lighting or maintaining a fire of any type at any location, smoking (including cigarettes or similar devices, and as part of a cooking process), non-electric cooking (regardless of fuel source), using or discharging any type of fireworks, throwing down/discarding lighted or smoldering material (including matches or cigarettes), campfires, bonfires, live fire training events, flame effect(s) based displays or exhibitions (including sky lanterns and cold spark machines), and using spark causing devices for recreational purposes.

Anyone who sees any signs of wildfire should call their local fire department immediately to report it. Accurate and timely reporting of wildfire responses by Ohio fire departments is important for a rapid response to the incident.