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Minnesota cities declaring burning bans
Several cities across Minnesota are enacting bans on outdoor recreational fires due to dry weather conditions in an effort to help prevent fires.
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (FOX 9) - The cities of Bloomington and Burnsville have declared a ban on outdoor recreational fires due to dry weather conditions in an effort to remove any potential ignition source to help prevent fires.
What we know
"We’ve got all this dry vegetation, warm weather, low humidity, the wind conditions," said Laura McCarthy, Deputy Fire Chief and Fire Marshal for Bloomington.
It's one of several reasons why The Bloomington Fire Department is sounding the alarm saying no outdoor fires.
"All of that is really adding up to significant concerns of a small fire creating a very large fire and spreading very quickly," said McCarthy.
The reason why the fire can spread quickly is because of less rainfall in recent weeks. The burn ban includes fire pits outdoors, no matter if it is made out of metal or stone or fueled by gas or wood.
"A simple ember or ash from a recreational fire or fire pit could easily spread to areas that have a lot of vegetation and increase that risk and have a significant fire," said McCarthy.
Other ignitions
One thing you may want to look out for is how you get rid of your cigarette butt.
"Discarded smoking materials, any kind of open flame that can produce an ash, an ember that could spread to vegetation and then potentially spread to structures and homes," said McCarthy.
If you decided to go against the burn ban, you could be fined up to $250. But, the fire department isn’t looking to give out citations right away.
"We’re really about education, so our first steps are to educate the resident to let them know if they’re not already aware, give them the opportunity to say hey, we got a burning ban please extinguish your fire," said McCarthy.
The Bloomington Fire Department says the burn ban will remain in effect until there is enough rainfall to lower the fire danger.