What’s the latest on Kentucky burn bans?

JAMESTOWN, Ky. (FOX 56) —Despite rain in the forecast Thursday, the FOX 56 Weather Authority team has been tracking all week drought conditions across the commonwealth.

Right now, at least 40 counties have an active burn ban, which includes Russell County. The burn ban in Russell County has been in effect for over a week.

According to the graphic above, the ban doesn’t allow any open burning of brush and trash, campfires, or the use of fireworks.

Due to how dry conditions have been, it doesn’t take much for a small ember to turn into a massive fire.

While there has been some rain the last two days, Judge-Executive Randy Marcum said he and emergency management officials came to the conclusion it was best not to lift the burn ban at this time because the rain has been only in certain pockets of the county.

Marcum said he recognizes that having a burn ban prevents community members from going about their day-to-day lives in some respects, but he is urging everyone to do their part.

“I get people calling me and saying, ‘hey, I’ve got some trash or some stuff, you know, that I need to burn.’ And I’m like, just wait,” Marcum explained. “Because what happens is we have a burn ban that’ll be coming up here soon from the state. It’ll be a statewide burn ban. And then again, we’ll have it in the spring before, you know, things start greening up again. So, people are kind of used to it. But when something like this happens where it’s been really, really dry, it’s just, you know, it’s necessary for us to put a burn ban and or we don’t risk somebody else’s life.”

From farming to tourism, the extremely dry summer has had an immense impact on a lot in Russell County.

Marcum said emergency management personnel have been put to the test over the last few months.

There are fire departments across the county, all of which are volunteers, and each, Marcum said, has been up to the challenge.

He said emergency management crews across the county have been doing a remarkable job of working together and being available at a moment’s notice, despite the obstacles.

He also said his office is ready to step in and provide any resources necessary.

“They’ve got in our local agreements, which allows the cities to go out in the county,” Marcum detailed. “So, any resources that we can give them from the emergency management side, we will provide. If it means calling and some other people from the state, we’ll do that as well.”

Marcum said he and other officials have explored the possibility of shifting the burn ban from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. after the rain the county has received the last couple of days, and what they could get on Thursday.

That decision won’t come, however, until either later in the day on Thursday or Friday.