Enacting Burn Bans In Polk County Could Get Easier With Ordinance

BARTOW | Polk County fire officials could act quickly to ban outdoor burning during dry periods, the County Commission agreed Wednesday.

The ordinance will streamline the current process, which requires the County Commission to schedule a public hearing and pass an ordinance to impose the ban and then hold a second hearing to lift the ban, said Polk County Fire Chief David Cash.

After the administrative burn ban is enacted, the decision will be taken to the next County Commission meeting for ratification.

The county ban applies only to campfires or bonfires and burning garbage and yard trash.

It does not apply to any burning governed by Florida Division of Forestry permits, such as prescribed burns and burning land-clearing debris, Cash said.

Late spring is normally the height of the wildfire season, when a combination of lack of rain and high temperatures increases the fire risk.

Cash said last week that the bans could be declared only in certain parts of Polk County where there is a significant wildfire danger.

According to the latest data from the Florida Division of Forestry, the most serious fire threat is in southeast Polk, and some areas along Interstate 4 have a relatively low fire danger.

[ Tom Palmer can be reached at tom.palmer@theledger.com or 863-802-7535. ]