Burn ban lifted for Sequoyah County
Sequoyah County Commissioners on Thursday lifted the county’s weeklong burn ban.
Emergency Management Director Todd Harris announced the ban following a February 26 emergency meeting, and the commissioners reaffirmed the restriction at their weekly meeting on Monday.
But soaking rainfall — more than 1.3 inches from Wednesday morning through midday Thursday, with more rain forecast through Saturday morning — prompted the commissioners to end the ban.
Just days before the burn ban was implemented, the commissioners declined to prohibit outdoor burning, citing an absence of necessary criteria. That changed, however, three days later.
When the possibility of lifting the burn ban was discussed Monday, the commissioners declined to consider ending the restriction, citing a continued lack of rain. They left open the possibility of an emergency meeting to lift the prohibition if conditions changed.
By Thursday, rains across eastern Oklahoma made lifting the ban an easy decision.
No announcement had been made as of midday Thursday regarding lifting the burn ban in neighboring Adair County, but burn bans have been lifted for Cherokee County and northwest Arkansas counties Crawford and Sebastian.
The burn ban was the first for the county since October 2024.
