Maybe you can still use this fire pit this fall.
Ohio State Fire Marshal Kevin Reardon on Friday lifted a burn ban for 24 counties, ending more than a month of banned fires in the state.
Starting Friday afternoon, Ohioans can resume grilling with charcoal, lighting campfires, playing with sparklers and other activities previously prohibited by the burn ban.
What is legal to burn under Ohio law?
However, there are still restrictions on burning. Under Ohio law, lighting fires to burn wood, brush, weeds, grass or “trash of any kind” in unincorporated areas is prohibited from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. in October and November.
This restriction applies to fires started by discarded matches, cigars and other burning substances.
Why was there a burn ban in Ohio?
Ohio’s fire ban was due to drought and dry conditions, but recent rainfall and the state’s slide into fall weather was enough to create “a significant and lasting reduction in wildfire fuel loads,” according to a news release from the state fire marshal.
Across the state, grass has turned green and wildfire fuels such as sticks and logs have soaked up moisture, “substantially reducing” the risk of out-of-control wildfires, the news release said.
“There’s a lot to it, but it simply comes down to how easy it is to start a fire on the ground,” Ohio State Fire Marshal Kevin Reardon said in the news release.
Is Ohio still experiencing a drought?
The fire marshal initially issued a burn ban for 24 Ohio counties on September 6. At its peak, 44 Ohio counties experiencing “extreme” or “exceptional” drought were affected by the ban. On October 4, the fire chief reduced the burning ban to only 24 provinces.
Ohio is still experiencing a slowly improving drought, but the risk of wildfires due to the drought – as measured by the Keetch Byram Drought Index – has returned to a more average level for October, according to the news release.
The risk of forest fires is not expected to increase in the near future, but if it did, a ban on burning fires could return, the press release said.
NHart@dispatch.com
@NathanRHart
This article originally appeared in The Columbus Dispatch: State Fire Marshal lifts burn ban in Ohio after recent rain
