Burn ban to continue

Douglas County’s burn ban will continue for another week.

The restrictions on outdoor burning which had been scheduled to expire at midnight Friday will continue through the end of the day Aug. 23, said Jere McElhaney, chairman of the Douglas County Commission. The ban also is in effect in Baldwin and Eudora.

McElhaney said conditions remained ripe for dangerous fires because of ongoing dryness in fields, other vegetation and soil.

The ban prohibits:

  • Building, maintaining, attending or using any open fire or campfire, except in permanent stoves or fireplaces, or in barbecue grills in developed recreational sites or residential home sites.
    • Burning of fence rows, fields, wildlands, ravines, trash, debris or other materials.
    • Carelessly using and disposing of smoking materials, including cigarettes, cigars and pipes.

    Violations are punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of $2,500.

    Officials continue to field complaints about people violating the ban.

    Wednesday evening, the Kanwaka Township Fire Department responded to a brush pile fire in the 1600 section of East 400 Road, about 1.5 miles east of Stull, said Lt. Kathy Tate of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.

    The person who started the fire told deputies and firefighters that he thought the ban had been lifted, Tate said. Deputies did not cite the man but did forward a report to the District Attorney’s Office for a decision about whether to file charges.