Posted on 09/14/2005 12:54:41 PM PDT by WestTexasWend
Johnnie Lou Ingram, the zoning administrator at Picayune City Hall, is incensed.
A neighbor started burning some of the debris around his home on Sunday and the fire got out of control nearly destroying her house and those of some her neighbors.
Pine Grove and Nicholson Volunteer Fire Departments and the Mississippi Forestry Commission had to respond to the fire off Palestine Road near New Palestine Cemetery to bring it under control, she said. The firefighters had to battle the blaze until 11:30 p.m. and the Forestry Commission had to use its plough to contain the fire.
Picayune Assistant Fire Chief John Mark Mitchell was shaking his head Monday morning as he listened to Ingram tell her harrowing story.
"We're under a burn ban. Everything is so dry. And even if you have just a small fire, everyone has their windows open with the power out. The smoke comes in and you smell up everything," Mitchell said.
He said the fire ban has been issued by both the state and by Pearl River County. Not only has the weather following Hurricane Katrina been very dry, all the trees blown down and snapped off are drying, the ground is littered with branches and leaves that are drying. Conditions are ripe for a nasty fire, Mitchell said.
Mitchell, who also is a Justice Court judge, warned that people starting the fires may not know that they can be arrested just for starting a fire.
Shortly after he finished discussing the burn ban, a call came over the fire department's radio that someone was burning trash in a ditch on Jackson Landing Road just outside the city limits.
Janet Miller, Justice Court Clerk, said penalties for starting a fire during a burn ban are, upon conviction, six months in jail and a fine of up to $500 but not less than $100.
She was waiting for a call from the Mississippi Attorney General's office Monday afternoon to learn if the penalties are enhanced for lighting fires during an emergency such as the one that has been declared in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
MS ping
Hey, hold my beer and watch this...
A neighbor started burning some of the debris around his home on Sunday and the fire got out of control nearly destroying her house and those of some her neighbors
Burn a house that survived katrina
go figger
And in other local news, Snuffy Smith just returned from his annual Hogzilla hunt.
They didn't have flood insurance ....but they do have FIRE insurance.
Bingo! I think we have a winner...
I wouldn't worry if it didn't rain for another two weeks. This summer has been too wet and it really needs to dry out a bit. Mowing the grass every four days is a bit too much.
Just went thru a hurricane but everything is too dry...cute
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