By KEN CARPENTER
Great Bend Post
The Barton County Commission issued a county-wide ban on outdoor burning on Dec. 15, the day exceptionally strong winds blew through the area. Amy Miller, the county's Emergency Risk Manager, advises the commission about when a ban may be needed to stop the spread of wildfires. She told Eagle Radio on Monday about the status of the current ban.
“It’s still in place,” Miller said. “Even when there was snow on the ground within the last ten days, we still had fires even though we had snow. There really has not been enough moisture in the fire chiefs’ opinions to warrant lifting the burn ban.”
In addition to communicating with the fire chiefs in Great Bend, Hoisington, Ellinwood and Claflin, Miller also checks drought conditions with weather and forest service agencies to determine moisture levels in the grass.
Miller has advice for every resident in the county.
“We just need to be really careful because it’s dry enough now I think a spark from anything could start a fire,” she said.
Commissioners agreed at their meeting on Jan. 11 to get a weekly update about maintaining or lifting the county's burn ban.