LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — Nearly two weeks after enacting a burn ban countywide, Lancaster County commissioners voted Wednesday to lift it.
The decision comes as the State Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has downgraded the county’s wildfire risk from moderate to low.
“We’ve received a bit of rain and we’re also looking at a good forecast for more rain," said Brian Pasquale, Lancaster County's director of emergency management.
This means the decision to allow opening burning is now up to each municipality.
Columbia Borough had originally banned both burning and fireworks through July 9, but is now changing course after the county’s decision.
“It is tied to [the county's resolution], but we’ll be taking official action at next Tuesday’s borough council meeting to remove that ordinance," said borough manager Mark Stivers.
Even though the county, and certain municipalities like Columbia are lifting those burn bans, they’re still warning people to be careful because of how dry it continues to be.
“Even though we get some rain we’re still in drought conditions here which means we’re still below the average rainfall we should get this time of year," explained Stivers. "There’s still conditions that could be conducive to people setting fires accidentally.”
While rain is forecasted several days over the next week, it’s not expected to fully relieve us of drought conditions.
Stivers says it's something to keep in mind, as Fourth of July nears.
“We want people to have fun, but we don’t want their fun to be at the expense of the safety of others," he said.
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