Governor lifts burn ban Wednesday

Due to significant rainfall that moved across the state, Gov. Mary Fallin issued a proclamation canceling the Governor’s burn ban that was in effect for 53 counties.

This change came at the recommendation of Oklahoma Forestry Services after an analysis of the impact of the rainfall in the affected counties. The removal of the Governor’s burn ban has no effect on county burn bans that were in place. OFS is contacting those counties to confirm which bans will remain or be rescinded.

“Individual counties can utilize more localized data, conditions and fire occurrence to decide if burn bans are called for on a county level,” Fallin said.

In the counties no longer covered by the governor’s burn ban, citizens are urged to check with local officials or visit www.forestry.ok.gov/burn-ban-information to see if county burn bans have been enacted before doing any type of burning.

“The rainfall had a positive impact on the larger forest fuels such as branches and fallen trees, but our light grassy fuels will dry out quickly and will still carry fire,” said George Geissler, Oklahoma State Forester.  “We are still in our winter fire season and in the absence of spring green up we could find ourselves right back in high fire danger within a week or so. The rain just gave firefighters a break from the extreme fire behavior that necessitated the burn ban.”

Oklahoma Forestry Services asks you to report any suspicious smoke or fire to your nearest fire department immediately.

Oklahoma Forestry Services is the state’s lead agency related to wildland fire prevention and protection. For additional information about wildfires, visit www.forestry.ok.gov/wildfire-information.