Get AI Briefings, Transcripts & Alerts on Local & National Government Meetings — Forever.
Burn ban remains off; county to publish clearer outdoor-burning guidance and coordinate with fire departments
Loading...
Summary
Kendall County kept its burn ban off Tuesday and directed the fire marshal’s office to publish clearer online guidance about allowable outdoor burning, wind thresholds and reporting procedures; the county will brief volunteer fire departments on enforcement and reporting procedures.
Kendall County commissioners on Tuesday left the county burn ban off and directed the county fire marshal and emergency management staff to publish clearer guidance on outdoor burning rules, allowable exceptions and procedures for notifying dispatch.
County emergency-management staff reported the county’s drought index and recent rainfall figures and recommended the burn ban remain off. County officials said they would post an easy-to-use guidance page on the county website that summarizes critical points of the state’s Allowable Outdoor Burning Act and local protocol, including distinctions among recreational campfires, agricultural burns, controlled brush burning and prescribed fires; penalties; and wind-speed thresholds that make burning illegal (officers noted sustained winds above about 23 mph as a commonly used threshold for prohibiting controlled burns).
The court also asked staff to coordinate a training session for volunteer fire departments and to encourage residents to call the county’s nonemergency dispatch number on the day they intend to burn so the county has a log of planned burns in that area. Staff clarified that residents remain responsible for the safety of burns and that dispatch logs do not substitute for on-site control and attendance.
No change to the burn-ban status was made; the long-standing local procedure that the court follow was described and staff said the webpage and outreach training should be available soon.
