The National Weather Service issued a fire danger warning for a large swath of central Indiana, putting Kokomo on notice about severely dry conditions.
The weather service says the already dry conditions combined with temperatures expected to soar above 100 degrees in some places, low humidity and winds gusting up to 30 mph could combine to create combustible conditions.
The weather service says a red flag warning will be in effect from 11 a.m. until
9 p.m. Thursday from Kokomo in the north to Vincennes in the southwest and North Vernon in the southeast. Meteorologist Michael Koch says central Indiana generally doesn’t have too many red flag warnings, although the weather service did issue one on Monday.
Russiaville Volunteer Fire Chief Landen Bartley, president of the Howard County Fire Chiefs Association, said the red flag warning was the main reason the county fire chiefs instituted a burn ban this week.
He said homeowners need to be aware that under the burn ban, their liability increases for starting a fire.
“People are going to be held responsible for their actions,” Bartley said.
The county ban prohibits any open burning, comfort fires, agriculture burning or similar legal fires until weather conditions improve. Additionally, people found in violation of the ban may be fined or billed by the fire department and possibly subject to additional criminal penalties.
In Kokomo, Fire Chief Pat O’Neill said he won’t staff additional crews during the red flag warning, and said the department is already set up to handle worst-case emergencies.
The city, which has a permanent ban on open burning, issued an additional fire prevention order Tuesday.
Fireworks are now banned in the city of Kokomo, due to an emergency disaster declaration issued by Kokomo Mayor Greg Goodnight.
The order lasts for seven days; the Kokomo Common Council has planned a special meeting for July 2 in order to extend the fireworks ban, if conditions don’t improve.
Koch says central Indiana sometimes goes years without a red flag warning.