As drought conditions persist, City of Coshocton issues open burning ban

COSHOCTON − Drought conditions leading to the potential for wildland fires across Ohio has led to an open burning ban issued in the City of Coshocton, ahead of the standard state burning ban starting Oct. 1.

Chief Rusty Dreher of the Cohocton Fire Department issued the ban earlier this week. The Ohio State Fire Marshal's Office issued a similar ban on Sept. 6 for counties effected by drought that extended and expanded on Sept. 20. It did not include Coshocton. A regular annual ban will also be observed from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily for October and November across the state, per Ohio law.

"Every county around us, pretty much, the state fire marshal has issued a ban. My understanding, he's using some weather reports and drought stuff to figure that out, what counties are in it. But, I thought it necessary we protect the city and protect our resources," Dreher said.

Prohibited activities include any open burning of trash, debris, waste, combustibles, leaf piles or similar vegetation; campfire and bonfires; fireworks; discarding lit or smoldering material; live fire training; flame effect exhibitions; and spark or heat producing devices for recreational purposes.

Acceptable are indoor cooking; outdoor cooking with electric stoves, propane or other liquid fuel; and non-flame based heating or electrical devices.

Dreher said they are working with the board of the Coshocton County Fair for anyone staying on site who planned to open flame cook while camping to make sure they have proper safety precautions. No campfires will be allowed.

"Even if we get a significant amount of rain, it's already dried out and dead. It's going to dry right back out," Dreher said of vegetation. "We've had outlying areas where we've had fires before without it being this dry before."

The Coshocton Fire Department provided mutual aide along with several other fire companies last Saturday to the Walhonding Valley Fire District for a three acre woodland fire off of the intersection of Ohio 715 and Ohio 206, part of Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District land. Walhonding Valley Chief Mike Snyder said it's usually difficult to determine the origin of such blazes and said there was nothing immediately present to give an idea on cause.

Leonard Hayhurst is a community content coordinator and general news reporter for the Coshocton Tribune with more than 16 years of local journalism experience and multiple awards from the Ohio Associated Press. He can be reached at 740-295-3417 or llhayhur@coshoctontribune.com. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @llhayhurst.

This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: As drought conditions persist, City of Coshocton issues open burning ban