Commissioners Pass
RESOLUTION
With no immediate end in sight to this area’s triple digit temperatures and severe drought, Murray County Commissioners on Monday passed a resolution banning all outdoor burning.
The ban takes place immediately, according to the resolution.
The county is among a vast majority of counties in the state to institute a burn ban as conditions worsen in Oklahoma.
In the past 30 days, the Sulphur area has received only 0.21 inches of rain, becoming one of the driest periods in decades, and only 1.31 inches in the last 60 days.
Heat has also been taking its toll in the area with ponds and lakes drying up, and vegetation dieing. Sulphur has recorded a total of 32 days this summer of reaching the 100-degree mark, and there is little end in sight. Hot conditions are forecast all the way through the Labor Day weekend with high temps reaching near 100 degrees each day.
This Oklahoma Mesonet map shows the number of days each weather recording station in Oklahoma has reached or exceeded 100 degrees this summer. The Mesonet station just north of Sulphur has recorded 32 days of at least 100 degrees during the summer as of last Sunday.
The resolution passed by commissioners on Monday makes it illegal “to set fire to any forest, grass, range crop, or other wildlands, or to build a campfire, or to burn or ignite fireworks, or to burn trash or other material that may cause a forest, grass, range crop or other wildlands fire.”
The resolution also encourages construction workers to take precautions when working with propane or other controlled-type burners by having a means to quickly put out a fire.
Other exceptions include those working with welders, cutting torches or grinding activity, but include several restrictions, including conducting those activities over a non-combustible surface of at least 10 feet by 10 feet. Using welding blankets or screens to cover flammable vegetation is also required as is using an individual to serve as a fire watch with the ability to quickly put out a fire.
Not permitted under the resolution are outdoor campfires and bonfires. However, LPG and natural gas grills and charcoal/ woodfired grills/smokers outside in a grilling receptacle are permitted provided the activity is conducted over a non-flammable surface and at least five feet from flammable vegetation.
Persons convicted of violating the resolution could be subject to a $500 fine or a one-year prison sentence, or both.
The resolution calls for a seven- day burn ban which started on MondayAug. 31. Commissioners will revisit the situation next Tuesday to determine if an extension of the burn ban is needed.
