NORRISTOWN — Lack of rain and dry conditions prompted the authorization of a 30-day burn ban across Montgomery County.
The Montgomery County Commissioners made the unanimous decision during Thursday’s board meeting. Emergency Management Deputy Director Jason Wilson urged the action based on a recommendation from the county’s public safety department.
Since September, fire crews were dispatched to more than 300 brush and vegetation fires, Wilson said.
Montgomery County fire companies host Fire Prevention Week events
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“The county’s suffered an unprecedented lack of rainfall and drought-like conditions for the majority of the past three months. We’re in the neighborhood of 10 inches below average rainfall amounts expected for the past 90 days,” Wilson said. “These dry conditions and persistent lack of rainfall pose a great public safety concern by way of brush, wildland and forest fires.”
The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources defined “open burning” as the “ignition and subsequent burning of any combustible material … out-of-doors, either in a burn barrel or on the ground.” Debris spans the gambit, including garbage, leaves, grass, twigs, and paper.
While some incidents were started naturally, Wilson said others were created by “manmade actions,” citing open burning, careless ash disposal and trash burning as some reported causes. Around 98 percent of wildfires in Pennsylvania “are a direct result of people’s actions,” according to figures from the state’s conservation and natural resources department.
Wilson added that 30 Montgomery County municipalities have enacted related ordinances and 24 other counties have passed burn bans. Fires have broken out in recent months in the region, including places such as Reading, as well as other parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York.
Charcoal grills, gas stoves, propane, and tobacco products are still permitted use, as they’re “not covered under county burn bans,” according to the state’s conservation and natural resources website.
“This will create a united front combating a historical set of circumstances we are facing and it will ensure we are doing everything in our power to protect lives and property within the county,” Wilson said.
