County officials issue county-wide burn ban, effective today

German Township volunteer firefighters work at the scene with a number of area fire departments after a 5-acre field fire was reported at North County Road 500E and East County Road 275N on Sunday. Submitted photo

COLUMBUS, Ind. — Bartholomew County officials have issued a disaster emergency proclamation instituting a county-wide burn ban effective today.

The Bartholomew County commissioners have declared a state of emergency in regard to ongoing drought conditions, according to Bartholomew County Emergency Management Director Shannan Hinton.

The county is prohibiting the following activities until further notice, effective immediately:

  • campfires or other recreational fires
  • open burning of any kind using wood or other combustible matter, with the exception of grills fueled by charcoal or propane
  • burning of debris, such as timber or vegetation, including debris that comes from building construction
  • the use of burn barrels for any open burning at residences.
  • charcoal from permitted grills shall not be removed from grills until it has been thoroughly extinguished.

Hinton said the county is strongly urging residents to limit their use of fireworks to those that do not leave the ground and to refrain from using any aerial fireworks.

For more on this story, see Saturday’s Republic.