It’s been close to two months without significant rainfall in this area, prompting the local Emergency Management office to issue a burn ban.
Pearl River County Emergency Management Director Danny Manley put the burn ban into effect Monday morning and will be in effect for an undetermined period of time.
He said the county is currently in drought conditions, and fire departments have been responding to multiple brush fires as a result.
“That can get extraordinarily dangerous if winds pick up,” Manley said.
Statewide, 69 other counties are also under burn bans, with only the six coastal counties and a few others currently without bans, according to the Mississippi Forestry Commission.
In the meantime, residents in the county should avoid burning anything, including leaves and pine straw.
There are exceptions to the ban, but pertain to activities by the Mississippi Forestry Commission, certified burn managers, county fire services and commercial contractors. Contractors must meet Mississippi’s Department of Environmental Quality regulations in order to burn.
Pearl River County’s burn ban also allows agriculture field burns to be exempt.
Anyone who knowingly violates a burn ban can be found guilty of a misdemeanor and fined between $100 to $500.