BROOKINGS COUNTY (9-24-26) — Despite recent rains, a burn ban remains in effect for Brookings County.
Kelly VanderWal is Brookings County Commission Vice Chair… “This past summer we had a dry spell and we took the precautionary measure to enact a burn ban. During that time period, if an individual in the county wanted to burn they just simply had to contact their local chief, and there were some that took advantage of that. But that way it wasn’t just the decision of the landowner or the renter or whatever, but the fire chief got involved as well.”
He said they don’t enact these bans lightly… “When the commission makes those decisions to enact a burn ban, it’s not just five commissioners. The county has a president of the fire chiefs association, so we value his opinion — it’s Dave Jacobsen this year — and then the emergency manager is involved in those decisions as well, and the latest discussions we’ve had with the fire chiefs association was let’s leave the burn ban on until after harvest.”
VanderWal isn’t just a county commissioner; he’s also a volunteer firefighter… “I don’t mind going to any calls, but when somebody has a controlled burn, and then their neighbor doesn’t know about it and they call it in and then 25 people rush to that fire department — it takes people away from their jobs. So I encourage people to always call your controlled burns in, whether we’re in a burn ban or not.”
You can notify the county of controlled burns by calling 692-2113. The current burn ban went into effect on August 18. More information is posted at the Brookings County website.
— Brookings Radio News
