The Collier County Board of County Commissioners has authorized a burn ban due to deteriorating near-drought conditions.
According to the National Integrated Drought Information System, 99 percent of Collier County is now under abnormally dry conditions.
The U.S. Drought Monitor depicts the location and intensity of drought across the country using 5 classifications: Abnormally Dry (D0), showing areas that may be going into or are coming out of drought, and four levels of drought (D1–D4).
The U.S. Drought Monitor is a joint effort of the National Drought Mitigation Center, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
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Per Collier County Ordinance 2009-23 the County Manager may recommend an immediate ban of outdoor burning and outdoor ignition sources during extreme drought conditions. The ban prohibits open burning, which is any outdoor fire or open combustion of material that produces visible emissions, of trash and yard waste, which includes vegetative matter resulting from landscaping and yard maintenance operations.
The decision came after consultation between the Collier County Emergency Management Department, Florida Forest Service, Collier County Fire Chiefs’ Association, and Collier County Sheriff’s Office. The group jointly identified a need for a burning ban to become effective immediately after certain environmental conditions were met, including dry conditions.
In recent dry seasons, local dependent and independent Fire Districts and State and Federal Agencies have responded to numerous wildfire events that have frequently threatened homes, schools, businesses, parks, and roadways.
Wildfires have on occasion generated periodic evacuations and impacted commerce and travel by forcing roads to be closed for suppression or smoke management concerns.
The ban includes all unincorporated Collier County but exempts all commercial agricultural burning, lawful controlled industrial or commercial environments that are part of the manufacturing or some type of assembly process, and burning activities regulated by the Florida Forest Service. T
This ban presently has no impact on the retail sales of fireworks, although the discharge of fireworks, sparklers, and incendiary devices is prohibited.
In addition, outdoor grills, stoves, cookers, and smokers may be used in the preparation of food if the cooking fire is controlled and attended to. All outdoor cooking areas shall be free of burnable materials within an area having a circumference of three feet beyond the nearest edge of the cooking fire.
Violation of the order, if it is found to cause irreparable or irreversible damage, can be up to $15,000.
The ban will remain in effect until further notice.
For more information, call 311 or (239) 252-4311.
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