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