Enforcing the ban on outdoor burning

RINGGOLD, Georgia (WDEF) –  Catoosa County, Georgia becomes the latest community to issue a total burn ban.

As a result of the recent brush and wildfires throughout North Georgia, The Catoosa County Board of Commissioners has issued a burning ban that prohibits all outdoor fires. Officials told News they plan to enforce the ban without coming across as too harsh on violators who might not be aware that a ban is currently in place.

“If someone is burning, we’ll make them aware of the burn ban and give the opportunity to extinguish the fire or we’ll extinguish it for them. If it becomes a problem of repeat offenders, then we’ll get our zoning department involved with the enforcement part,” said Catoosa County Fire Division Chief Steven Quinn.

That means after warnings have been given out, repeat offenders could be slapped with a citation.

In southeastern Tennessee, a regional burning ban in 51 counties has been in place since Monday. The ban was declared by Governor Haslam and it supersedes all of the burn bans issued by municipalities.

“We have given a few warnings to people who have been caught burning illegally. It has been going on for a while but the governor’s ban is little different than what we issued several weeks ago. We have just kind of taken it on a case by case basis then determine if we feel law enforcement needs to be involved. Our investigator does have the option to issue a warning at that point,” said Amber Boles who is a spokesperson for the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Air Pollution Control Bureau.

But not everyone caught ignoring the ban may walk away with just a warning, especially if they are caught in the act by a law enforcement officer.

“A law enforcement officer actually has to observe the fire. At that point, they will charge you with a class-A misdemeanor and either issue you a citation or arrest you right there,” Boles said.

The moral to the story is to simply obey the ban to stay out of trouble.