Spurred by the recommendation from Wessington Springs and Alpena Fire Departments on top of a Red Flag Warning issued by the National Weather Service, Jerauld County Commissioners issued a burn ban for the county Friday, effective immediately.
“With the high fire threat growing over the past weeks, Ryder Schweitzer and I have talked about this extensively,” said Wessington Springs Fire Chief Eric Schroeder. Schweitzer is the Fire Chief in Alpena. “Fire conditions are terrible right now. We ask that everyone is mindful of outdoor activity.”
Last week, the National Weather Service in Sioux Falls issued a Red Flag Warning for wind and low relative humidity, which was in effect until 8 p.m. Friday and from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. CDT Saturday.
County Commission Chairman Shane Mentzer polled other commissioners individually by cell phone to make the burn ban decision on Friday afternoon and commissioners took formal action in Tuesday’s regular commission meeting.
Open burning is defined as an outdoor fire, including but not limited to campfires, warming fires, charcoal grill fires, fireworks or the burning of fence rows, fields, wild lands, trash and debris. This ban excludes fires contained within liquid fueled or gas fueled stoves, fireplaces within all buildings, charcoal grill fires at private residences and permanent fire pits or fire grates located on supervised developed picnic grounds and campgrounds. The burn ban is in effect until further notice.