OSMOND — Last week, the Osmond Volunteer Fire Department issued a reminder that no burn permits will be issued until further notice. This came after two fire calls on Sunday, March 8. One a mutual aid call with Randolph 1½ miles north of the Highways 81 and 20 junction and the second was a ditch fire at 868 Road/542 Ave.
northwest of Osmond.
In mid-February, the Osmond Volunteer Fire Department posted that no burn permits would be issued until further notice. They issued the reminder on March 8 that there should be no burning of any kind, and asked that people not throw cigarettes out car windows due to low humidity and the wind.
Last week, the National Weather Service issued a Fire Weather Watch for Thursday due to wind and low relative humidity. The light amount of snow earlier in the week did not provide near enough moisture to get rid of the danger of wildfire.
Nebraska residents are reminded that there is always a statewide burning ban. Individual departments can decide if there would be any burning at all, but they would have to provide a burn permit. Burning without a permit is a Class IV misdemeanor with fines up to $100 for first offense.
Drought conditions throughout the state have contributed to the fire danger. At least 48% of the state is in a moderate drought, with 32.5% in a severe drought and 8.5%, including portions of northeast Nebraska, in an extreme drought. In Pierce County itself, 75.43% is in an extreme drought and 24.57 in a severe drought.
Governor Issues Burn Ban
On Friday, Governor Jim Pillen is issuing a statewide burn ban, to help reduce the potential for additional wildfires in Nebraska. Dry and windy conditions have caused the spread of significant fires in the central and western parts of the state. Earlier that day, Gov. Pillen issued an emergency proclamation activating the deployment of state resources to help combat fires, including the use of aircraft and personnel from the Nebraska National Guard.
The Governor’s executive order prohibiting burning will remain in effect until 11:59 p.m. on March 27. Included with this release was an update that has been provided by State Fire Marshal Doug Hohbein to all fire chiefs statewide. It states, in part, “The Executive Order prohibits
any fire chief or person designated by the fire chief from granting an open burn permit for any purpose. Any existing burn permit that has not been completed is null and void and open burning is not permitted for 14 consecutive days beginning now.”
Osmond firemen at a recent fire call
