Despite the line of showers that came through the area on Tuesday, the Vanderburgh County Board of Commissioners decided on Friday that conditions were still too dry and voted to continue the county-wide burn ban.

How Long is Vanderburgh County Under a Burn Ban?

The Board announced the extension in a press release Friday afternoon saying they made the decision "with the advisory issued by the City of Evansville / Vanderburgh County Emergency Management Agency." The Agency shared the graphic below from the U.S. Drought Monitor on Facebook Thursday morning which shows the level of drought severity across the midwest. While Vanderburgh County and the majority of southern Indiana are not quite as bad as some areas to our south and southwest, we are considered to be under a "moderate drought."

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The burn ban applies to all "unincorporated areas" of the county and is valid 24 hours a day for the next 30 days, or until the Board votes to lift the ban, whichever comes first. With not much rain in the forecast with the exception of Sunday into the early part of Monday, it's likely the ban will be in place for some time.

What Does a Burn Ban Mean?

The extension of the burn ban means you can't burn anything. That means no open bonfires, or even starting a fire in a fire pit if you have one. It also means no burning sticks in a burn barrel. With that said, the Board of Commissioners press release states you cannot have an open fire unless you have "first obtained" and have in your possession "a written permit from the commanding officer of the fire department having primary jurisdiction over the area where the open fire is to be conducted." Basically, you can have one if the person in charge of the fire department that covers where you live writes a note saying you can. My guess is, considering how dry everything is, unless you have a really good reason you need to start an open fire, they're not going to sign off on it. But, you never know until you ask right?

In the event you decide to take your chances and start a fire anyway, just know that if you're caught violating the ban, you will be fined $500 if convicted.

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