Moody County commissioners held a second reading of the amended burn ban ordinance at their meeting on Tuesday, April 18.

The amended ordinance was read by State’s Attorney Paul Lewis, who said it was just a general rewrite of the previous ordinance to give the commissioners more flexibility.

For county residents to know if a burn ban is in effect, they can go to moodycounty.net and click on the Grassland Fire Danger for Moody County link. With the new ordinance, if Moody County is in the orange (very high) or red (extreme), a burn ban is in effect.

If Moody County is not in ‘very high’ or ‘extreme’ fire danger, then no burn ban is in effect.

This allows for a burn ban to be put in place immediately when the risk for fire is high, according to Commission Assistant Marty Skroch. It also allows for a burn ban to be lifted immediately if there is rain.

“In the past we would have had to wait until the next county commissioner meeting to remove a burn ban, even if we had a soaking rain,” Skroch said.

Section 1 of the ordinance states that when weather or other conditions exist which make open burning of any substance unduly hazardous and a danger to public safety, the Moody County commissioners may enact a resolution declaring a fire danger emergency.

The second section reads that if a fire danger emergency is declared, all burning of any substance shall be prohibited within any or all of the unincorporated areas of Moody County until such time as the resolution declaring the fire danger emergency shall have been rescinded by appropriate action by the Moody County commissioners.

Article 2.1, a new addition, states, “Irrespective of the enactment of a resolution from the Moody County Board of Commissioners declaring a ‘Fire Danger Emergency,’ open burning of any substance is expressly prohibited when the National Weather Service has declared a Red Flag Warning in Moody County, or when the Grassland Fire Danger Rating in Moody County reaches Very High or Extreme.”

In campgrounds, unless specifically banned by a resolution of the Moody County commissioners, open burning within those designated areas falling within the boundaries of any permitted private, state or federal campground shall be legally responsible.

Section 6 of the ordinance regards to reporting of controlled burns. It states that anyone who intends to conduct an open burning at any time notify the Moody County Dispatch Center before burning and provide the location of the burn, time of the burn, substance being burned, approximate completion time of the burn and a phone number to contact for the responsible person.

Any person who violates the requirements will be subject to 30 days in jail, a $500 fine or both.

The dispatch center can be reached at 997-2423. 911 should only be used in the case of an emergency.

Anyone with questions is encouraged to reach out to Moody County Emergency Manager Terry Albers by phone at 997-3251 or by stopping into his office on the first floor of the courthouse.