County declares burn ban

TONY BROWN
Blackened fields, whether from controlled burns or wildfires, are a common site around northwest Missouri this spring. Continuing dry weather, low humidity and gusting winds prompted the Nodaway County Commission on Tuesday to issue a countywide burn ban, which will stay in effect until further notice.

Nodaway County Clerk Beth Walker announced Tuesday morning that a burn ban is now in effect for all of Nodaway County until further notice.

The ban includes, but is not limited to, brush, fields and refuse.

Authorized by the Nodaway County Commission, the ban is in response to continuing dry weather. Conditions became especially hazardous on Tuesday as a cold front swept into the area, bringing gusting winds in excess of 30 mph.

Continuing clear weather with highs in the 50s and 60s is expected to continue at least through Saturday.

The commission’s ban comes on the heels of a warning issued late last week by Maryville Public Safety fire Capt. Phil Rickabaugh, who noted that about a dozen wildfires have swept over parts of the county during the past ten days.

Most of the fires have been in Polk Township, a rectangle extending about five miles in each direction from the Maryville City Limits. However a number of grass and brush fires were reported in other parts of the county as well.

“The dry conditions are starting to pose a genuine threat,” Rickabaugh said. “Everybody’s been kind of hopping.”

The county issues burn bans in response to data compiled by the National Drought Mitigation Center.

Early spring is generally a wet time of the year in northwest Missouri, and the season during which rural landowners typically start burning brush that has accumulated over the winter or setting controlled burns required under Conservation Reserve Program guidelines.

In addition, many rural households burn trash and rubbish as a matter of course.

But until this area gets some spring rain, the commission has decided that such activities are simply too hazardous.

“Typically, spring is burning season,” Rickabaugh said. “But humidity levels are low, and the wind is a factor this time of year.”

In the event that a wildfire does occur, Rickabaugh is urging residents not to delay calling firefighters while trying to extinguish the flames themselves.

“That is key,” he said. “… Get on the cell phone and dial 911.”