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The Davison County Commission has elected to keep the current county burn ban in effect for the time being, citing the ongoing threat of a fire danger emergency.
The commission made their decision at the Tuesday, Nov. 22 meeting of the commission. The current burn ban was enacted Oct. 25.
“(Tuesday) the commission decided to leave the burn ban in place. However, if a rural resident needs to burn their garbage burn barrel, they can if supervised, a fire extinguisher is on hand, and they ensure the fire is completely out when finished,” Jeff Bathke, emergency management director for Davison County, said in an email to the Mitchell Republic. “They also need to notify their local fire department prior to starting.”
Davison County adopted an Ordinance for the Regulation of Open Burning During Fire Danger Emergencies, pursuant to SDCL 7-8-20 (18) and consistent with SDCL 34-29B-11.1 on Aug. 7, 2012, according to a press release. When weather or other conditions exist which may make open burning unduly hazardous, the Davison County Board of Commissioners may prohibit or restrict open burning after consultation with local fire officials and law enforcement officials in order to protect the public health and safety.
Davison County Commissioners acted by Resolution #102522-01 declaring a fire danger emergency prohibiting burning in Davison County on Oct. 25 of this year, until such time as the Resolution declaring the Fire Danger Emergency shall be rescinded or amended.
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Any person in violation of this Resolution shall be subject to a maximum penalty of 30 days in jail, a $500 fine, or both.
According to the resolution, residents may still burn:
- Fires contained within liquid-fueled or gas fueled stoves
- Fireplaces within all buildings
- Charcoal grill fires at private residences
- Permanent fire pits or fire grates located on supervised developed picnic grounds and campgrounds (which would include a private backyard fire pit)
- Fire department approved private or public fireworks displays with fire suppression standby services
According to the resolution, residents may not burn:
- Any outdoor fire (which would include burn barrels and garbage burn pits)
- Campfires
- Warning fires
- Charcoal grill fires (larger than private residence)
- Prescribed burning of fence rows, fields, wildlands, trash and debris.
- Fireworks not supervised or approved by a fire department
Anyone with questions regarding the matter can reach the Davison County Emergency Management Office at 605-995-8640 or email at jeffb@davisoncounty.org.
