Kosciusko County Emergency Management Agency Director Kip Shuter requests the Kosciusko County Commissioners issue a burn ban countywide due to the dry conditions on Tuesday. The commissioners approved the burn ban proclamation for 30 days or until it’s rescinded. Photo by David Slone.

By David Slone
Times-Union

KOSCIUSKO COUNTY — For the second time this year, Kosciusko County is under a countywide burn ban.

The ban is for 30 days or until rescinded by the Kosciusko County commissioners.
On Sept. 18, the commissioners issued a burn ban, but rescinded it on Sept. 24 after the county received some rain.

Requesting the burn ban from the commissioners on Tuesday, Emergency Management Agency Director Kip Shuter said, “I think we all know the conditions are really dry. Last Thursday, when they updated the U.S. Drought Monitor, we were actually elevated a step to the D2 to be in severe drought conditions. Low humidity, relative humidity, is complicating this. Today, winds are going to complicate this. Enough to the point that it’s scary if anybody were to discard a cigarette. That will be enough to spark a fire.”

He said Kosciusko County Sheriff Jim Smith on Sunday received a call from a farmer asking the county to implement a burn ban.

“In his over 50 years of farming, he said he’s never seen it this dry this time of year. It is extremely dry,” Shuter said. “I think it’s prudent for all of us to consider this for the safety of our community.”

Shuter said the county hired him to protect life and minimize damage to property.
“So my job is to reduce those hazards and try to mitigate those, and this is a mitigation step to do that,” he stated.

The burn ban proclamation states that the following activities are prohibited in the county:

• Campfires and other recreational fires, unless enclosed in a fire ring with dimensions of 23 inches in diameter by 10 inches high or larger.

• Burning in burn barrels, unless the barrel is equipped with a one-fourth-inch mesh top from dawn to dusk only.

• Open burning of any kind using conventional fuel such as wood, or other combustible matter, with the exception of grills fueled by charcoal briquettes or propane. Charcoal from permitted grills shall not be removed from the grills until the charcoal has been thoroughly extinguished.

• The burning of debris, such as timber or vegetation, including such debris that results from building construction activities, with the exception of storm-damaged timber and vegetation from the Sept. 20 microburst.

• Use of personal fireworks, with the exception of organized permitted fireworks displays when the local fire department is on site.

Middle District County Commissioner Cary Groninger said with it being fall, everybody wants to burn their leaves. He made a motion to approve the burn ban for 30 days or until they rescind it, and the motion passed.

Maddi Johnson, meteorologist with the National Weather Service of Northern Indiana, said it’s been very dry this October because the area has had a lack of systems to bring in any substantial rain.

“It’s been nice and sunny, but, unfortunately, it’s been dry,” she said.

This month, she said we’ve received a lot of weather systems from the west, including Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois, but they have tended to dissipate before they entered Kosciusko County.

So far in October, South Bend has received 1.15 inches of rain, while Fort Wayne has received 0.01 inches and Warsaw received 0.13 inches.

“For Warsaw, it’s been a noticeable dry stretch from the end of September to mid October,” Johnson said. The 0.13 inches of rain received has been since Sept. 29.
Not only is the county experiencing dry conditions, but Kosciusko also has been in a drought for the last four to six weeks. As of Oct. 17, Warsaw has experienced severe drought conditions.

Some of the conditions expected today, Oct. 22, that could lead to fires are the relative humidity of 20 to 30 percent, which Johnson said is very low. Leaves, plants and unharvested crops are very dry, so those can ignite easily and a fire could quickly spread.

She said the National Weather Service is encouraging everyone to abide by any burn bans, be careful with any equipment that sparks and have a water source nearby if doing any activity involving sparks or flames. Dispose of cigarettes properly and fully.

As for the forecast, Johnson said Thursday through Friday there is a 40 to 50% chance of rain, but the rain amounts will be light, 0.10 to 0.25 inches, and not enough to offset the current drought conditions. That small amount of precipitation is the only rain forecasted for the next seven days and then it “goes quiet through November.”

September and October are usually pretty dry going into the fall. While it’s not unusual for the months to be dry, Johnson said it is unusual for them to be this dry.
“The fact that we’ve had stretches of weeks where it’s been dry is pretty notable,” she said, adding that she wouldn’t be surprised to see other counties put burn bans in place this week.