(WGHP) – The NC Forest Service has issued a statewide burn ban starting at 8 a.m. on Friday, March 21.
The burn ban will remain in place until further notice.
The ban prohibits all open burning in all 100 counties, regardless of whether or not a permit was already issued. No new burn permits will be issued until the ban has been lifted.
The NC Forest Service states, “anyone violating the burn ban faces a $100 fine plus $183 court costs. Any person responsible for setting a fire may be liable for any expenses related to extinguishing the fire.”
Any questions regarding the burn ban in a specific county can be directed to the NC Forest Service county ranger or the county fire marshal’s office.
What’s the reason for the burn ban?
Dry conditions and recent increased wildfire activity were cited as a couple of reasons for the statewide burn ban. According to Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler, the burn ban was necessary to reduce the wildfire risk, which will protect lives, property and forestry in North Carolina.
Let’s look back at rainfall over the last six months to see just how dry conditions have gotten in the Triad.
A normal 6-month rainfall total in the Triad is 18.13 inches. However, five of the last six months had below-normal rainfall amounts, leaving us with only 12.49 inches of rain observed since October. That puts the Piedmont Triad in about a 5.5-inch rainfall deficit in the last six months.
Winter is already one of the driest times of the year. When the drier months are combined with a six month rainfall deficit, it means vegetation is even drier as we head into the spring wildfire season and the windiest time of year.
March and April are our windiest months of the year and also mark the spring wildfire season. Spring is typically our windiest season because we’re transitioning from cold temperatures to warmer weather.
As warm temperatures push north, it bumps into the cold air still lingering in the north which creates a large temperature and strong pressure gradient (change in pressure), creating stronger winds as the air moves to equalize the pressure difference.
March has an monthly average wind speed of 8.8 mph and April comes in second with an average wind speed of 8.7 mph.
So far, March has seemed windier than normal and while that’s sort of true, it’s not by much.
Out of 20 days, eight of them have had average winds stronger than normal and seven of them have had an average wind speed over 10 mph.
The windy days have been WINDY and the calmer days have been very calm which is part of why it feels like it’s been windier than normal. However, the average wind speed through March 20 is 9.4 mph, not even 1 mph stronger than the monthly normal.
We’ll have a couple more chances in the coming days to see strong winds. Friday’s winds reached 20 mph at times and on Saturday, March 21 our wind gusts are expected to reach up to 40 mph in the afternoon.
With the gusty winds and dry conditions, fire weather will remain a concern through the weekend.
So remember, the burn ban is in effect until further notice for all 100 counties in North Carolina. Please be careful when disposing of cigarettes and matches, because improperly disposed of smoking material can spark fires.
