Burning permits put on hold due to weather

By By Georgia E. Frye / staff writer
March 26, 2004
Meridian Fire Marshal Jeff Homan said Thursday that he discourages any burning inside the city limits until the weather changes.
Homan said the Meridian Fire Department will not issue any burning permits until it rains and the humidity increases. Homan said burn permits that have already been issued are still valid at this time, but extreme caution should be used if burning is being done.
He said if weather conditions do not improve then the fire department may ban all outside open burning in the city. Homan said dry weather and low humidity can cause fires to spread quickly.
The Mississippi Forestry Commission also reports that the wildfire danger is the highest for the southern half of the state. The commission says that since March 1, more than 800 wildfires have burned 16,000 acres statewide, most of which occurred in the southern part of the state.
Forestry Commission crews fought 67 fires that burned 2,448 acres Tuesday in the commissions' 11-county Southeast District. Hancock County was hit hardest, with an 850-acre fire that destroyed several pine plantations that range from 1 to 10 years old.
Jim Barnes, a protection forester in the Southeast District, said the pine plantations were a total loss.
The commission also reports that burning trash is the leading cause of wildfires in Mississippi.