As Mississippi continues to face an extremely dry summer, officials have initiated a partial statewide burn ban effective immediately.
Gov. Tate Reeves along with the Mississippi Forestry Commission (MFC) and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) issued the ban Friday afternoon for the following 40 counties: Adams, Amite, Claiborne, Clarke, Copiah, Covington, Forrest, Franklin, George, Greene, Hancock, Harrison, Hinds, Issaquena, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson Davis, Jefferson, Jones, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lincoln, Madison, Marion, Newton, Pearl River, Perry, Pike, Rankin, Scott, Sharkey, Simpson, Smith, Stone, Walthall, Warren, Wayne, Wilkinson, and Yazoo.
Additionally, the MFC has activated its Incident Management Team in the case of wildfires. The burn ban comes as parts of Mississippi have not seen measurable rain in over a month with rain unlikely over the next 10 days.
“Much of the state is experiencing significant drought conditions,” Reeves said. “With the current drought conditions and little rainfall in the forecast, we are taking action now to protect the public. The state of Mississippi will continue to monitor conditions and respond as needed.”
Under the burn ban, outdoor burning of any kind is prohibited in the listed counties. Anyone caught violating the ban can be fined and held responsible for any damages caused by a fire.
