Parts of Lexington County placed under burn ban. Here’s why
Parts Lexington County is on a burn ban until further notice, according to a statement from county officials.
The Lexington County fire chief issued the ban on general debris burning in the unincorporated parts of the county Friday afternoon.
There are a few exceptions to the ban, though. Burns related to forestry, agriculture and cooking food will be allowed.
The ban comes as firefighters in Lexington County battle a brush fire and the state is under a Red Flag Fire Alert.
County officials tweeted at about noon that a fire crew was fighting a fire off of Interstate 20 West near the Pelion, Batesburg-Leesville exit.
The entire state is under a Red Flag Fire Alert, meaning weather conditions are causing elevated risk of wildfire. The alert is set to last throughout the weekend. The South Carolina Forestry Commission discourages people from having fires outdoors during these types of alerts.
“With the dry weather we have experienced lately, and predicted relative humidity values in some areas lower than 25% and winds gusting above 15 miles per hour, we strongly encourage everyone to postpone their outdoor burning until conditions improve early next week,” Forestry Commission Fire Chief Darryl Jones said in a statement. “We have not gotten much significant rainfall in the last few weeks, and fuels are very dry, so any outdoor fire could escape easily.”
