Drought Conditions, High Winds Prompt 53-County Burn Ban

Friday, Governor Mary Fallin issued a burn ban that covers about two-thirds of the entire state.

In total, 53 of Oklahoma’s 77 counties are under the ban that expires February 24, 2017, but that could be extended if we don’t get a good soaking of rain soon.

2/10/2017 Related Story: Fallin Issues Burn Ban For 53 Oklahoma Counties

OSU's John Weir studies wildfires for the Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management; the expert said you'll never find the professionals trying to burn anything this time of year.

Instead, Weir said the governor’s burn ban in place right now is to make sure everyone is aware of the wildfire risk.

With high winds, low humidity and Oklahoma's extreme drought, wildfires can quickly put everyone in danger.

The threat prompted the governor’s 53-county burn ban.

"The plants, the animals that live here are adapted to fire - they need fire, it's a part of their ecology, it's a part of the Great Plains,” he said. “Now, the damage that goes that can happen if somebody loses a home, loses a barn, loses some type of personal property, that's different, so that's why you try to mitigate."

Weir said even a good rain or snow may not be enough to keep parts of our state from catching fire.

"Our fuels are grasses for a big part of this state, and those are fine fuels, they are what we call one-hour fuels," he said.

That means, within an hour after drying out, those grasses can easily catch fire.

Weir said Oklahoma’s wind plays the biggest factor when it comes to the potential for fires.

"Again, we can have these same conditions and no wind and you could have a fire, and, it’s like, 'Where is this fire going to go,' it's just going to creep really slowly because there's no wind to push it," he said.

Responsible landowners pay attention to the weather and the wildfire risk.

"They're not out there trying to burn on days like this because they know what the conditions are and they're burning on a strict set of conditions that they try to follow," Weir said.

He said nearly two million acres of Oklahoma's land gets set on fire intentionally in controlled burns, which can be good for the ecosystem.

Most years, wildfires burn about 50,000 acres.