Catoosa County issues burn ban

A wildfire, due to drought conditions, broke out on Bone Dry Road in Kimberly, Ala., on Monday, Oct. 10, 2016. Forestry officials are banning outside burning across most of Alabama because of fast-spreading wildfires. Coleen Vansant, of the Alabama Forestry Commission, says the fire alert took effect Monday and covers 46 of the state's 67 counties.
A wildfire, due to drought conditions, broke out on Bone Dry Road in Kimberly, Ala., on Monday, Oct. 10, 2016. Forestry officials are banning outside burning across most of Alabama because of fast-spreading wildfires. Coleen Vansant, of the Alabama Forestry Commission, says the fire alert took effect Monday and covers 46 of the state's 67 counties.

The Catoosa County Commission issued an emergency prohibition on outdoor burning Tuesday night.

This comes at a time when fires have swept through southeast Tennessee and northwest Georgia due to dry conditions in the region. On Monday, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam a ban on burning in 51 counties, including Hamilton County, through Dec. 15.

These bans include cooking fires, recreational fires, outdoor fire pits, bonfires and other similar outdoor burning. The Georgia State Forestry Commission is also prohibiting the issuance of any permits for controlled burning.

It's unclear how long Catoosa County's burn ban will be in effect, based on a press release from the county. It is also unclear what kind of punishment violators will face.

In Tennessee, disobeying the burn ban can result in a class A misdemeanor.

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