Reno County delays revised open-burning rules after hours of debate and public input

The Reno County Board of County Commissioners on April 11 voted to table for two weeks a proposed amendment to the county’s open-burning resolution after an extensive public hearing and discussion.

The draft would restore a prior requirement that authority to conduct an open burn be obtained from the Hutchinson and Reno County Emergency Communications Center (ECC) prior to ignition and would give the ECC an explicit checklist of conditions that prohibit burns. Staff said the changes are intended to align county requirements with state fire marshal regulations while clarifying when the ECC must deny permission.

County staff described the proposed prohibitions: burn bans tied to the state’s grassland fire danger index, wind gust thresholds measured at Hutchinson Municipal Airport, times relative to sunrise and sunset, and when local fire apparatus or personnel are unavailable. The draft also creates an exemption allowing registered prescribed burn associations (PBAs) that submit an emergency-management–approved burn plan to be exempt from the notification/permission step in the ordinance.

Representatives of local PBAs urged the commission to give organized associations greater operational leeway. Dusty Tall of the Nesco Valley Prescribed Burner Association said well-prepared PBA burns rely on surface-level wind, humidity and mixing-height data that better reflect fire behavior than airport readings at 10 meters. ‘‘There’s a pretty serious correction factor between what’s being read at the airport and what’s going on at ground level,’’ he said, arguing PBAs should be able to operate under a separate, written prescription because they staff and plan burns to a higher standard.

Several commissioners and staff pressed for clarity about which weather station dispatch should use. One commissioner said citizens had been denied burns on days when local measurements showed lower gusts than the airport reading; county staff and an agency representative said the Hutchinson Municipal Airport station is the recognized standard used by dispatch because it measures at the 10-meter height specified by the National Weather Service. Staff noted dispatchers handle many calls and need a consistent, quickly accessible source.

The proposed resolution also would prohibit fire chiefs or their designees from waiving procedures that are reserved to the ECC; staff said that change arose after at least one incident in which a chief authorized burning despite active conditions that the ECC would have denied.

After testimony from multiple PBA speakers, fire professionals and staff, Commissioner (S3) moved to table the draft resolution for two weeks to allow staff to work with PBAs, fire chiefs and emergency communications on definitions and operational details. The motion passed.

The commission directed staff to return a revised draft that addresses the PBAs’ concerns about how wind is measured for small, well-prepared burns and that clarifies the mechanism for keeping PBAs ‘‘in good standing’’ if they are to be exempted. The board said it also wants additional input from local fire chiefs and emergency-management staff before voting.

The item will return for further discussion at a subsequent meeting; commissioners said they want to preserve public safety while giving prescribed burn groups a clear, administrable process for approved burns.