Ohio State Fire Marshal extends, expans burn ban

OHIO, (WOWK) – The Ohio State Fire Marshal has expanded its open burn ban to include additional counties as extreme drought conditions are still impacting several parts of the state, despite rain in some areas.

According to the OSFM, the ban first went into effect on Sept. 6, 2024. Ohio State Fire Marshal Kevin Reardon says that if NOAA and the USDA identify even part of a county as being in an “extreme” or “exceptional” drought, the entire county is included in the OSFM burn ban.

“The rain we’ve had is certainly nice and is a breath of fresh air in some regards, but it’s in no way close to replacing the amount of moisture we need to have in our soil in the affected burn ban areas,” said Reardon. “It’s just not enough.”

This burn ban prohibits all outdoor fires and forbids bonfires, campfires, smoking or outdoor cooking of any kind. All firework displays have also been banned. The Ohio State Fire Marshal’s Office says even live fire training events are banned.

As of Friday, Sept. 27, five of the six counties in our region of Ohio are included in the burn ban. They are: Gallia, Jackson, Lawrence, Meigs, and Vinton counties.

Scioto County has not been listed in the update, despite being on the original list. Lawrence County is one of the additional counties.

Surrounding counties of Adams, Athens, Hocking, Pike and Ross counties are also included in the burn ban.

The remaining counties under the ban are: Belmont, Brown, Butler, Carroll, Champaign, Clark, Clermont, Clinton, Coshocton, Delaware, Fairfield, Fayette, Franklin, Green, Guernsey, Hamilton, Harrison, Highland, Jefferson, Licking, Logan, Madison, Miami, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Perry, Pickaway, Tuscarawas, Union, Warren, and Washington counties.

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