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October 2, 2012

Burn ban still in effect for Stephens, 32 other counties

Derrick Miller The Duncan Banner

DUNCAN — Gov. Mary Fallin’s burn ban is still in effect for 33 counties, including Stephens County.

Despite receiving 3.84 inches of rain in the past month, the burn ban remains in effect for Stephens County. But it isn’t a decision the Board of Stephens County Commissioners can make.

“We don’t have anything to do with that,” Todd Churchman, District 2 commissioner and board chairman, said. “That’s the governor’s deal.”

With the governor putting the burn ban in place, the affected counties cannot remove the burn ban themselves. Instead, it’s up to Fallin to make the final decision.

If the commissioners had put the burn ban on for the county, they could have removed it at any time. For instance, Caddo, Creek and McClain counties have put county-wide burn bans into effect for 30 days. But they can remove them if they feel the conditions are no longer conducive to high fire danger.

The latest version of the governor’s burn ban was filed Sept. 28, and included the 33 counties currently under the burn ban. The governor’s burn ban was previously approved Aug. 3 and Aug. 31 for all 77 counties, and Sept. 17, which was for 55 counties.

According to the burn ban proclamation, “It is unlawful for any person to set fire to any forest, grass, woods, wildlands or marshes, or to build a bonfire or fire, or to burn or ignite fireworks, or to burn trash or other materials outdoors in any of the counties included in this proclamation.”

The counties included in the proclamation include Beaver, Bryan, Carter, Cimarron, Comanche, Cotton, Ellis, Garfield, Garvin, Greer, Harmon, Harper, Haskell, Jackson, Jefferson, Kay, Kiowa, Latimer, Le Flore, Love, Marshall, Murray, Noble, Osage, Pawnee, Payne, Pontotoc, Stephens, Texas, Tillman, Washita, Woods and Woodward.

With the last approval of the governor’s burn ban proclamation taking place Sept. 27, it’s unknown when the proclamation may be amended to remove more counties. That final decision will rest with Fallin.

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