Monday, September 17, 2012
OKLAHOMA CITY – Governor Mary Fallin today signed an executive order removing 22 counties from a statewide Governor Burn Ban that has been in place since August 3. Fifty five counties remain under a state-issued burn ban. The change in the Governor Burn Ban is due to improving wildland fire conditions and comes at the request of Oklahoma Forestry Services, a division of the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry.
The Governor’s Burn Ban is now in effect for Adair, Alfalfa, Beaver, Blaine, Bryan, Caddo, Canadian, Carter, Cherokee, Cimarron, Comanche, Cotton, Craig, Custer, Ellis, Garfield, Garvin, Grady, Grant, Greer, Harmon, Harper, Haskell, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnston, Kay, Kingfisher, Kiowa, Latimer, LeFlore, Logan, Love, McIntosh, Major, Marshall, Mayes, Murray, Muskogee, Noble, Nowata, Osage, Pawnee, Payne, Pontotoc, Rogers, Sequoyah, Stephens, Texas, Tillman, Wagoner, Washington, Washita, Woods and Woodward Counties.
Fallin thanked Oklahomans and first responders for assisting the state in combating wildfires during this summer’s long drought.
“With wildfires burning thousands of acres and hundreds of homes, this was a difficult summer for many families and businesses,” Fallin said. “However, challenging circumstances once again gave Oklahomans an opportunity to demonstrate why we are such a strong and resilient community. My thanks go out to our first responders and firefighters, the many volunteers who worked to support their operations or offer help to friends and neighbors in-need, and all of our citizens for their vigilance in preventing wildfires and obeying state and county burn bans.”
In the counties no longer covered by the Governor’s Burn Ban, citizens are urged to check with local officials or visit http://www.forestry.ok.gov/burn-ban-information to see if county burn bans have been enacted before doing any type of burning.
“Though several counties are not covered by burn bans, conditions are still conducive to sustaining wildland fire,” said George Geissler, Oklahoma State Forester. “I ask all Oklahomans to be very cautious with activities that could spark a wildfire such as grilling, campfires or any other outdoor burning.”
Oklahoma Forestry Services asks you to report any suspicious smoke or fire to your nearest fire department immediately.