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Looking to beat that March 1 deadline to burn yard waste or paper products in your yard?
If so, first consider either alternate plans (composting, recycling, etc.) or at least holding off in hopes of a good rain within the next week. If those aren't feasible options, then be sure to burn safely.
Fire officials recently have asked residents to avoid open burning due to windy, dry conditions.
Cole County Fire Protection District spokesman Steve Cearlock said that about 30 percent of the calls his agency responds to are from fires.
"A little spark, even a cigarette butt being discarded from a moving vehicle, can set off a fire which could get out of control with strong winds and low humidity," Cearlock said in a Monday News Tribune story.
Those of us who have been around for awhile can recall growing up with the public service announcements from Smokey Bear, with the slogan: "Rememberonly YOU can prevent forest fires." In 2001, that was updated, and "forest fires" was replaced by "wildfires."
It's an important distinction, since many uncontrolled fires aren't in forests.
Area firefighters have recently battled a rash of grass and brush fires in the county. One of those, a natural cover fire, damaged a landscaping business on Valley Hi Drive.
If you do burn, heed common-sense tips/safety procedures:
Use a burn barrel, if possible.
Burn only during daylight hours and not closer than 10 feet from a property line/easement. (These two are required by city ordinance.)
Make sure winds are not shifting or above 10 mph.
Establish a safe boundary around the area to be burned.
Soak the perimeter around your burn area before you start a fire.
Have a rake and a hose with running water at the scene and ready to use at a moment's notice.
Don't leave the burn area until you are absolutely sure it has been fully extinguished with water.
Burn against the wind, not with it.
A citywide ban on open burning in the 1990s sparked anger from a group of residents led by Jack West, who said it wasn't the role of government to tell people they couldn't burn yard waste and paper materials in their own yards. That led to an initiative petition that overturned the burn ban.
In more recent years, the has been limited from year-round to the winter months: November through February.
The last generation of city residents fought for their right to open burn in their yards. If you take advantage of the right to burn on your property, do so responsibly.