ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Forsyth County fire officials issued a burn ban Friday in response to severely dry conditions and ongoing wildfires across much of the state.
The ban pushes the state-required summer burn ban forward from May 1 to Friday, April 24; outdoor burning will not be allowed in the county again until Oct. 1, weather permitting, to prevent “serious and significant risk to the public during drought and near-drought conditions,” the Forsyth County Fire Department said.
“While technically legal during a burn ban,” the fire department is asking that residents “refrain from any and all recreational fires,” including backyard fire pits, campfires, cooking fires and campground grills “until weather conditions improve and our area has experienced significant and prolonged rainfall.”
The announcements come as devastating wildfires rage in the southern portion of the state. The Georgia Forestry Commission issued a burn ban for all of south Georgia and most of middle Georgia on Wednesday…