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Brown County burning restrictions issued

NWS issues Red Flag Warning

BROWN COUNTY — The Brown County Sheriff’s Office and fire chiefs issued burning restrictions for all of Brown County effective 8 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2 until further notice.

No open burning of CRP (Conservation Reserve Program) land and/or ditches or brush piles is permitted.

The National Weather Service has advised of elevated fire weather conditions of hot, dry conditions, low humidity and wind gusts continuing into early next week for Brown County, Minnesota. Any fire has the potential to quickly spread.

Recreational campfires are permitted. Recreational campfires must be contained in a ring of either rock, cement, brick, or metal, must not be closer than 25 feet to any structure and be attended to. Charcoal grills, wood smokers, and propane or natural gas devices are not considered open burning.

As a reminder, Brown County does not require residents to obtain a permit for open burning, but they must notify the Sheriff’s Office Dispatch at 507-233-6700 prior to open burning to ensure that there is no “burning ban” or “burning restrictions” in place.

The caller must provide the items to be burned, the location of the open burn, a contact name and cell phone number to Dispatch. The person starting the open burn shall attend to the fire at all times and have fire suppression equipment available.

The NWS has issued a Red Flag Warning for 18 counties in southwest, west central, and south central Minnesota due to extreme fire danger beginning Wednesday, October 2, from 11 a.m. through 7 p.m.

Affected counties include Big Stone, Blue Earth, Brown, Cottonwood, Faribault, Jackson, Lac Qui Parle, Lincoln, Lyon, Martin, Murray, Nobles, Pipestone, Redwood, Rock, Traverse, Watonwan, and Yellow Medicine

A Red Flag Warning means fires can spread quickly and easily progress out of control under the predicted weather conditions, including gusty winds and low relative humidity.

Do not burn in counties where a Red Flag Warning is in effect and check any recent burning to ensure the fire is completely out. The DNR will not issue or activate open burning permits for large vegetative debris burning during the Red Flag Warning, and campfires are discouraged.

“Embers can be carried for over a mile in high winds like this. People should use extreme caution until conditions improve,” said Karen Harrison, DNR wildfire prevention specialist.

Red Flag Warnings are evolving situations. Visit the National Weather Service, (weather.gov) for updates.

For more information and daily updates on current fire risk and open burning restrictions, visit the statewide fire danger and burning restrictions page of the DNR website (mndnr.gov/burnrestrictions).

To receive email updates on current wildfire risk and open burning restrictions in Minnesota text “FIRE” to 66468.

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