Proposed burn rules sent for rewording
Staff writer
An updated burn resolution prepared by county fire chiefs will be reworded by county counsel Brad Jantz.
Lincolnville chief Les Kaiser presented the chiefs’ changes to commissioners last week.
Marion chief Chris Killough, Hillsboro chief Ben Steketee, and Ramona chief Nathan Brunner also attended the meeting.
The primary changes have to do with brush burns.
The county’s emergency management director may impose a temporary countywide burn ban when fire departments are dealing with an emergency.
Commissioners will be notified as soon as possible.
A district fire chief may impose a burn ban in his or her district that will stay in force until the fire chief lifts it.
A landowner must notify dispatchers with the time the fire will be ignited, land owner, and, contact information.
Time and location of the fire, specific travel directions, the distance from other fuels, and whether the fire will cause smoke across a roadway also must be provided.
If dispatchers consider conditions to be too dangerous, they will consult the Grassland Fire Danger Index to decide whether an open burn should be authorized.
If the index reads “very high” or above for the next 72 hours, no brush pile burning will be authorized.
The resolution establishes penalties and fees. Violation will be considered a misdemeanor with a fine between $5,000 and $15,000, and/or a maximum of six months in jail.
Violators also could be assessed penalties of between $100 and $500. The fire department for the area will determine the penalty assessment and the severity of the violation.
If a department responds to an open fire and the person responsible for the fire has not complied with requirements, additional fees may be charged. They include:
- $35 for each man-hour, with a minimum of two hours for each firefighter.
- All losses to emergency equipment caused by the fire response.
- Additional or extraordinary costs that arise because of an expanding incident.
- Hourly rates for each piece of equipment used in responding to the fire. These range from $21 for a UTV to $165 for an engine.
Killough said he had imposed burn bans in the past because all his resources were tied up.
“If a chief says we need a burn ban, I don’t question it,” commission chairman Jonah Gehring said.
Commissioner Clarke Dirks asked why commissioners couldn’t be notified so they could answer questions if called.
Steketee said the heat of a battle precluded immediate notification, but chiefs could call after dealing with a fire.
Dirks asked whether the rules would apply to city burn piles, but commissioner Mike Beneke replied that city brush piles were regulated by Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
Dirks said he was not aware of anyone prosecuted for violating a 2017 burn resolution. Chiefs said they have sent complaints to the county prosecutor in the past, but whether the complaint was prosecuted was out of their control.
Jantz said he would draw up a draft of the proposal for further discussion.