Burn Bans, Fireworks, and Turf

Burn Bans, Fireworks, and Turf

As of today, July 10th 2012, there are 85 counties in the state of Indiana that are reporting active burn bans (http://www.in.gov/dhs/files/burn-ban/).  Many of these bans include the use of public and personal firework displays.  Although these bans are in place and we are past July 4^th, it may be necessary to survey sites under your control for damage (see image below).  Unintended fires in extreme drought conditions can start for a variety of reasons and care should be taken for turfed areas as they pose a threat for spreading fires among residential areas.  A recent Turf Tip titled “My lawn is brown and cruchy…is it dead? What do I do now?” details some management decisions to be made in these extreme weather conditions.    

A firework caused this stand to catch on fire on the evening on July 4^th, 2012. 

Jon Trappe, Graduate Research Assistant