Open burning ban is in effect in Floyd County

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com
An open burning ban is now in effect in Floyd County, after being approved by the state fire marshal.
Floyd County Emergency Management Coordinator Jason Webster had requested the ban on Thursday, Jan. 30, after area fire departments responded to at least five fire calls throughout the county that day.
“Due to the extremely dry vegetation conditions in the county and the number of grass/wildland fires that your area fire departments have been out on over the last few days, this office has submitted a request to the State Fire Marshal’s Office to declare an Open Burning Ban,” Webster had said.
Iowa Fire Marshall Dan Wood issued a proclamation prohibiting open burning after receiving Webster’s request.
“Upon investigation the fire marshal finds that conditions in Floyd County are such that open burning constitutes a danger to life or property,” Wood wrote in the proclamation.
“It is therefore ordered that no person shall engage in open burning in Floyd County, effective January 30, 2025 at 4:00 p.m. except as specifically permitted by Iowa Code 100.40(3) until such time as Jason Webster, representing each fire department having all or part of their fire district within Floyd County, notifies the State Fire Marshal that such conditions dangerous to life or property no longer exist.”
Violation of the proclamation is a simple misdemeanor.
Iowa Code says the proclamation does not prohibit “a supervised, controlled burn for which a permit has been issued by the fire chief of the fire district where the burn will take place, the use of outdoor fireplaces, barbecue grills, properly supervised landfills, or the burning of trash in incinerators or trash burners made of metal, concrete, masonry, or heavy one-inch wire mesh, with no openings greater than one square inch.”
Webster said, “Please use extreme caution when doing ANY type of outdoor burning, until we get some moisture in the ground, regardless of whether or not there is a ban in effect.”
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