Officials with the Darlington County Fire District want to establish an ordinance that would ban burning in Darlington County when the South Carolina Forestry Commission issues a red flag alert.
The alert itself does not prohibit burning, but asks people to voluntarily postpone any outdoor burning until the alert is lifted.
Darlington County Fire District Chief David Williamson says, a few weeks ago, they responded to 21 fires during a red flag alert. Williamson says one fire on Turnpike Road burned more than 60 acres.
Some counties have local ordinances in place that restrict burning when a red flag alert is issued and that's what firefighters in Darlington County are looking to establish.
This week, Darlington County Council gave approval to firefighters to work on crafting the ordinance. Chief Williamson says they hope to have a rough draft at council's next meeting in April. They're getting input from the Forestry Commission and the Darlington County Sheriff's Office.
