Washington County, Tenn. Emergency Management Agency Director Rusty Sells is urging Washington County residents to pay attention to burn restrictions. “This is the driest weather we have had since 2016,” Sells said. “We are strongly urging people to pay attention to the state’s restrictions and not to burn leaves or brush at this time.”
Sells said the state is currently pausing its issuance of burn permits in select counties because of the drought. Per the state website, restricted permit types are Agriculture, Seasonal Permit, Fuel Mitigation, Brush Pile, Wildlife, Leaf Pile, and Silviculture. Sells said restrictions are on open burns and do NOT prohibit outdoor grilling and burn barrels with mesh covers. Here is a link to areas of the state with fire restrictions.
Sells said the National Weather Service is pushing out alerts for the extreme fire conditions.
For more information, please call the Tennessee Division of Forestry at 877-350-2876.