ZANESVILLE, OH- Starting Wednesday across the state of Ohio a Burn Ban goes into effect.
In unincorporated areas outdoor burning is prohibited between the hours of 6:00 am and 6:00 pm. Lieutenant at Washington Fire Department Cody Smith said that the Burn Ban is important because brush fires are difficult to tackle for fire departments especially in regions with lots of hills.
“The Burn Ban is important because brush fires are a difficult issue to tackle for a fire departments especially in the hilly regions we have around here. It’s very difficult to access certain parts of the fire, it’s difficult to get ahead of the fire and stop from causing more property loss, so the Burn Ban really helps us out and stopping those fires from burning in the first place.”
Smith also said that brush fires grow rapidly and it’s difficult to tackle without the man power and tools for the fire.
“Brush fires grow rapidly and in Muskingum County, we’re just kind of strapped for man power. Getting enough guys with enough tools out for another fire early is definitely a challenge.”
Smith also said that even if you’re burning outside of the Burn Ban hours, it still needs to be a small manageable fire and you have someone beside the fire at all times to maintain the fire.
