COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio State Fire Marshal has lifted a ban on open burning that has been in place for more than a month due to extremely dry conditions for much of the summer.
The ban was put in place on Sept. 6 due to months of basically no rain from May through August.
The remnants of Hurricane Helene dropped much-needed rain last week, but some drought conditions still exist.
However, the state says the rain and falling temperatures provided enough moisture to to create a reduction in wildfire fuel loads during the first part of October. Wildfire fuel includes dry and withering grass, large logs that are very dry and ready to burn with an extreme intensity and organic materials on and in the ground that have very little moisture.
"Most importantly, those reduced wildfire fuel loads are not projected to increase back to the dangerous levels observed in September for the foreseeable future," the state said.
The hot and dry summer and early fall led to exceptional drought conditions, according to the US Drought Monitor. The state says with less moisture, wildfire fuel burns more actively.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources annual burn ban is still in effect through November. ODNR's burn ban prohibits most open burning between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. from Oct. 1 through Nov. 30 in unincorporated areas of Ohio.
Another burn ban runs from March 1 through May 31 every year.
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