Burn ban issued for all of St. Joseph County

UPDATE: After a good amount of rain fell over the weekend and Monday, many counties -- including St. Joseph, Kosciusko, Fulton, and Marshall -- have lifted their bans.

"The St. Joseph County Commissioners rescinded last weeks issued county wide burn ban today," said St. Joseph County Emergency Management Agency Director Al Kirsits. "Numerous Indiana counties are also doing this, including Marshall, Fulton and Kosciusko in our area. It should be noted that local enacted county and city ordinances banning burning are still in effect."

As of 3 p.m. on Sept. 24, La Porte, Starke, and Pulaski Counties still have burn bans in effect.

ORIGINAL: ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. -- The St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners with local fire departments announced a burn ban for all of St. Joseph County as of Friday at 8:51 a.m. after recommendations from the St. Joseph County Emergency Management Agency.

Officials say due to prolonged dry conditions, there's a higher risk for fires to spread quickly and out of control.

According to officials, St. Joseph County has already had a few grass fires recently, and the threat is expected to continue in the coming days and weeks.

The following activities are prohibited in St. Joseph County:

• Open burning of any kind using conventional fuel such as wood, or other combustible material, with the exception of grills fueled by charcoal briquettes or propane (charcoal from permitted grill shall not be removed from the grills until the charcoal has been thoroughly extinguished)
• The burning of debris, such as timber or vegetation, results from building construction activities.

To report a violation of the burn ban, contact the PSAP 911 dispatch center.

If conditions improve due to significant rainfall, the St. Joseph County Commissioners will rescind the burn ban and again permit the above activities.

La Porte, Starke, Pulaski, Marshall, Fulton, and Kosciusko Counties are also under a burn ban currently.

You can view a statewide map of counties that have issued burn bans online.

The map will be updated once St. Joseph County has returned to a normal burning status.