KINGSPORT — Open burning is now banned in the city of Kingsport until further notice after a directive was issued from the fire marshal Monday afternoon.
Kingsport Fire Department Public Education Officer Barry Brickey said July Fourth holiday staples like cookouts using charcoal and gas-powered grills are not affected by the ban, which was brought on by drought conditions that have gripped the Southeast and triggered at least three small blazes in recent days around Sullivan County.
“The fire marshal has been looking at rainfall totals and checking them throughout our region, and Sullivan County currently borders on an extreme drought,” Brickey said. “The rain we got from the thunderstorm Sunday night did not even budge things, and we are still bone dry. We know there will be a lot people in Kingsport around July Fourth, and you’re talking about blazes like campfires or bonfires — anything where cinders can fly free and float that are now not allowed. As dry as conditions are right now, things can escalate very fast.”
A Kingsport fire unit assisted on a quick-spreading brush fire Monday afternoon near the Exit 66 area of the county that Brickey said was contained.
A mulch fire was reported and put out at Brandy Mill Apartments in the city last week, while a blaze sparked by fireworks that burned less than a half-acre but threatened three storage buildings valued at over $400,000 was quashed in the county last Wednesday, according to a listing on the State Fire Report issued by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture’s Division of Forestry.
The city’s traditional fireworks display will go on as scheduled from atop Cement Hill at 9:45 p.m. on Wednesday, said Downtown Kingsport Association Executive Director Stacey Eubanks, after conferring with Fire Chief Craig Dye and Fire Marshal Robert Sluss Monday morning.
“They plan to have a brush fire truck from a county fire department on standby (near the display) to make sure we have the right safety measures in place,” said Eubanks.
A city law already makes setting off fireworks within the city limits illegal, punishable by a $50 fine per incident. Brickey said those caught in violation of the open burn ban will face a $50 fine plus court costs.
Burning bans in Tennessee have grown from just a handful last week to 26 counties as of Monday afternoon, Division of Forestry official Tim Phelps told the Times-News.
The only East Tennessee counties on the list are Sevier and Loudon counties, but Phelps expects that list to grow by the end of the week.
“The low relative humidities across Tennessee are very unusual this time of year. That has caused all of the ... fuels on the forest floor to dry out and become extremely flammable,” said Phelps.
County mayors must put in a request to the Division of Forestry for a burn ban to be designated, Phelps said.
Daily fire reports and updated drought conditions can be found at www.burnsafetn.org.