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Commission adopts daily burn-ban notification system; resolution sets Genesys alerts and local enforcement path
Summary
Crawford County commissioners approved a resolution to move to a daily burn-ban decision system using a mass-notification platform (Genesys), giving the county emergency manager and fire association president authority to impose daily bans and setting a path to make violations enforceable after publication.
Crawford County commissioners voted to approve a resolution creating a daily burn-ban notification system that gives the county emergency manager and the Crawford County Firefighters Association joint authority to impose a temporary, daily ban based on fire risk indicators.
Commissioners described the system as a more flexible alternative to the existing multi-day burn ban process. Under the plan adopted in resolution 2025-013, county staff will post a daily advisory by 8:30 a.m. when conditions make burning unsafe; notices will be distributed through the county website, social media and the Genesys notification platform. The emergency manager will post the daily status, with social media and website staff publishing the advisory.
The commission’s spokesperson said the daily advisories will be tied to fire-danger indicators used in the region — including the grassland fire danger index from the National Weather Service and red-flag warnings — and that the county will run a trial period to let residents sign up for the new notification system. County staff said the resolution must be published before it is effective, so the earliest effective date will be after publication; staff expected the system to be testable immediately and broadly effective the following week.
Commissioners said the county may later pursue an expanded permit system, but for now the daily-notification model is an interim measure. They also stated the county may make violations enforceable as a misdemeanor with a fine (the speaker noted $500 as an eventual fine under the local ordinance) once the public has had time to sign up for notifications and the system has been fully tested and published.
Implementation details discussed on the record include: Quentin Parsons, the Crawford County Emergency Manager, will post the daily status; Samantha (surname not specified) will post to social media; Brandon (surname not specified) will publish on the county website and staff will push the Genesys notifications. The commission said the change is intended to provide more timely, flexible public notice than waiting for commission meetings or newspaper publication.
A commissioner moved for adoption of resolution number 2025-013; the motion was seconded and approved on the record.
