Burn bans in Barstow, Hillsdale, Cordova, Port Byron and Rapids City will be lifted Wednesday due to improving conditions. The burn bans were put in place about 3-weeks ago, because of dry weather.
"We started seeing an increase in brush fires, which is kind of rare for this time of year," says Barstow Fire Chief Mat Schnepple, "Usually our brush fires come with the fall harvest."
Charred grass in a field near Barstow is all that's left after a fire started during the burn ban. It happened when a camp fire wasn't put out properly and it ignited the dry grass.
"The rural areas had quite a spike in fires and we have seen that go away since we got our rainfall," adds Schnepple, "Things have started to green up and it gives people the opportunity to get their yards cleaned up."
Improving conditions are why the burn ban will be lifted Wednesday. However, Schnepple wants to remind people that they still need to follow open burning rules.
"People need to be responsible just in case things get out of hand. People need to burn in a contained pit, away from everything else and with an available water source," says Schnepple.
If you are burning something larger than leaves or brush, the fire chief recommends having the fire department come out to check on conditions around the burn area.
Schnepple says, "Call your local fire department to let them know what's going on. Have us come out and look, it's free of charge and we'll give you any safety tips."
The fire departments will continue to check on conditions to make sure it's safe to burn. They want people to realize the burn ban could be reinstated in upper Rock Island County if it doesn't rain.
"About once a week or so we're in contact with the National Weather Service in Davenport. They're keeping us advised of river levels, as well as soil moisture and things of that nature," says Schnepple, "I'll tell you the best source in the world that we tend to use quite often is our local farmers."
There are still several Illinois communities where a burn ban is still in effect. East Moline, Orion, Silvis, Kewanee and Carbon Cliff are still under a burn ban until further notice.
On the Iowa side, Scott, Muscatine, Cedar, Louisa, Des Moines, Lee and Henry counties are not allowing burning.
