The City of Wichita will have a burn ban in place during the month of April. The ban will be in effect for 16 counties in Kansas as part of a plan to reduce ozone levels during the spring when agricultural burning takes place in the Flint Hills.
The Wichita Fire Department will enforce a ban on open burning, and no new burn permits will be issued during April. All previously issued burn permits will be suspended until at least May 1st. Live fire training will also be suspended for April. Sedgwick County will also have a ban on outdoor burning for the month.
The restricted activities will include burning trees and brush from land clearing, as well as the burning of crop debris, construction debris, yard waste. The use of backyard chimineas and fire pits will also be restricted.
The ban does not include outdoor cooking devices, ceremonial fires, or open burning for the purpose of crop, range, pasture and wildlife or watershed management as allowed under state law.
The agricultural burning in the Flint Hills can put Wichita and other cities at risk of exceeding federal air quality standards, so the local burn ban is critical in keeping ozone levels low.
