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County Commissioner Burn Ban - Decision Support Information

The following information and links are provided to assist County Commissioners to determine the need/justification for the consideration of a burn ban resolution for their particular county.  Additional information regarding the law and procedures can be found in the OFS document "County Bans on Outdoor Burning: Guidelines for Commissioners".

Prior to passage of a burn-ban resolution, the Board must declare the existence of extreme fire danger.  As defined in the law, extreme fire danger means all four of the following conditions exist: 

      

1.   

Moderate, severe or extreme drought conditions exist within the county as determined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
    

For current Oklahoma drought information go to the U.S. Drought Monitor website.  This is available at www.drought.unl.edu/dm/DM_state.htm?OK,S 

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       2.   

No more than one-half inch of precipitation is forecast by the National Weather Service (NWS) for the next three days. 
   

This information is available from the NWS Hydrometeorological Prediction Center.  Click here for the three-day rainfall estimate map or go to www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/qpf/d13_fill.gif

Additional information can be found at the websites for Oklahoma's four NWS Forecast Offices. These are located at:

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       3.    

Fire occurrence is significantly greater than normal for the season and/or initial attack on a significant number of wildland fires has been unsuccessful due to extreme fire behavior.
   

This information to be determined from county's municipal and certified rural fire departments.

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       4.    

More than 20% of the wildfires in the county have been caused by escaped debris burning or controlled burning activities.
   

This information to be determined from county's municipal and certified rural fire departments.

Commissioners must also document that a majority of the county’s municipal and certified rural fire departments agree that a period of extreme fire danger exists prior to passage of the resolution. This may require the county to develop a contact list of fire chiefs to facilitate gathering this information in a timely manner, or provide some other method to gather the necessary input to support your decision.