Open Burning Ban Expands To Additional Counties As Drought Conditions Continue For Parts Of Ohio

Columbus, Ohio – Despite some areas of Ohio receiving rain over the past week, much of the state continues to be impacted by extreme drought conditions.

As a result of these conditions, a Ban on Open Burning first ordered on Sept. 6, 2024, by Ohio State Fire Marshal Kevin Reardon has been extended and expanded to include additional counties.

The ban impacts any county in Ohio identified by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) or United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as being in the “Extreme Drought” or “Exceptional Drought” categories as identified by the United States Drought Monitoring System.

As of today, Sept. 27, the Ban on Open Burning includes the following counties: Adams, Athens, Belmont, Brown, Butler, Carroll, Champaign, Clark, Clermont, Clinton, Coshocton, Delaware, Fairfield, Fayette, Franklin, Gallia, Green, Guernsey, Hamilton, Harrison, Highland, Hocking, Jackson, Jefferson, Lawrence, Licking, Logan, Madison, Meigs, Miami, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Perry, Pickaway, Pike, Ross, Tuscarawas, Union, Vinton, Warren, and Washington.

Under the order, if any part of a county is identified by NOAA and the USDA as being in the “Extreme Drought” or “Exceptional Drought” categories, the entire county is included in the 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 State Fire Marshal Kevin Reardon. “It’s just not enough.”

Some regions of the state are expected to receive significant rainfall from remnants of Hurricane Helene. Any impact from that rainfall would be reflected on next week’s U.S. Drought Monitoring System map update.

Examples of activities prohibited by this Order in the ban area include those involving the lighting or maintaining of an open fire such as:

Prohibited Activities:

• Any open burning of trash, debris, waste, combustibles, leaf piles or similar vegetation
• Campfires and bonfires
• Throwing down or discarding lit or smoldering material, such as matches or cigarettes
• Using or discharging any type of fireworks
• Live-fire training events
• Flame effect(s) based displays or exhibitions, including sky lanterns and cold spark machines
• Using spark- or heat-producing devices for recreational purposes

Acceptable open flame-related activities include indoor cooking, outdoor cooking with electric stoves/cooking elements or propane/liquid fueled cooking as permitted in this Order, and use of non-flame-based heating or electrical devices.

Pursuant to Ohio Revised Code (R.C.) §3737.82, R.C. §3737.22(A)(1) and R.C. 3737.22(A)(2), and Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) 1301:7-7-03(G)(1)(b), Ohio Fire Code (OFC) 307.1.2. Click here to access the updated order. This order supersedes and replaces SFM’s Sept. 20, 2024 Ban on Open Burning Order.

In addition to the Ban on Open Burning for the above counties, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ (ODNR) Division of Forestry’s annual fall burn ban will go into effect for all of Ohio. This law prohibits outdoor open burning statewide in unincorporated areas during October and November between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. This ban includes the burning of yard waste, trash, and debris.

The annual fall burn ban serves as an additional type of an open burning ban in the counties impacted by the current SFM Ban on Open Burning, which is in effect 24 hours a day until it is lifted.

Once the SFM Ban on Open Burning is lifted for a county, those affected locations will still need to comply with ODNR’s annual statewide fall burn ban for its effective period.