Tulsa County Commissioners Issue Burn Ban

The Tulsa County Board of Commissioners called an emergency meeting Friday to discuss a burn ban.

The board met at 3 p.m. and unanimously determined to issue a burn ban for Tulsa County for at least the next 10 days.

Emergency management officials have been surveying area fire departments for the last several days. The results, along with the weather forecast, determined conditions are appropriate for a burn ban according to the guidelines for extreme fire dangers set out in state law, a news release said.

Parts of the county are not yet to the dangerous point, but the west end of the county, in particular, is in enough of a drought to trigger the ban.

Tulsa County Commissioner, Karen Keith said, "It's a lot more rural, open fields, and then a lot of woods, and we just, every summer, suffer from fires."

7/5/2012 Related Story: Creek County Officials Say Burn Ban Will Be Enforced

The burn ban will expire after July 16, but the board will consider extending it during the next regular Monday meeting.

The ban covers all forms of outdoor burning and fireworks, with the exception of gas or electric outdoor grilling.

There's also a fireworks show scheduled for Friday night at the Drillers game, which is excluded because of city-issued permits and precautions taken there.

Several grass fires burned Friday afternoon—the largest just north of Sand Springs, two miles north of Pogue Airport.