Muscatine County sets April 21 public hearing on proposed burning ordinance

The Muscatine County Board of Supervisors voted Monday to set a public hearing for 9 a.m. April 21 on a proposed ordinance that would bar outdoor burning whenever a red-flag warning is in effect and formalize the county’s burn-ban process.

Chris, an emergency-management staff member, told the board the Emergency Management Commission currently coordinates burn bans by polling county fire chiefs and working with the State Fire Marshal’s Office. “The past couple years, there's been some red flag warnings put in place for just a couple hours and so going through that process with the state fire marshal's office to do burn bans for just a couple hours is quite lengthy and there's not always somebody there, evenings, weekends, so forth,” Chris said, summarizing why a written county ordinance was proposed.

The proposed ordinance would, according to Chris, automatically prohibit burning during National Weather Service red-flag warnings and also preserve an option for local fire chiefs to request a burn ban when conditions warrant. He said the draft includes a reimbursement provision allowing fire departments to recover equipment and labor costs “at the FEMA scheduled rate.” He told the board that he and Jim had circulated clarifying answers about fines and reimbursement to the fire chiefs and that feedback had been positive.

Board members asked procedural questions about hearings and whether chiefs could declare bans without a red-flag warning; Chris confirmed chiefs could request a ban through the established process. Supervisor Curt moved to set the public hearing for April 21 at 9 a.m.; the motion was seconded and passed by voice vote.

The public hearing will give residents a chance to review the ordinance text and offer comment before supervisors consider final adoption. The board said the draft ordinance will be provided to supervisors and posted in advance of the hearing.