SMETHPORT – The McKean County Commissioners Monday imposed a
county-wide burn ban, effective at noon Wednesday.
Officials said those found violating the ban will face summary
charges and have to pay fines of between $100 and $300. If
necessary, the commissioners can extend the ban again by resolution
after 30 days.
The measure was unanimously approved in a 2-0 vote, with
Commissioner Clifford Lane absent.
“The economy of this county is largely dependent on the forestry
industry,” Commissioner Chairman John Egbert said during the brief
meeting. “If a fire gets out of control in a large place, we are
talking about a very large investment being lost, including
valuable timber.
“We want to do what we can to protect those resources.”
County Administrator Richard Casey said, at last report, 14 of
the 19 fire chiefs in the county agreed that implementing a ban was
needed at this time, noting the district forester is also backing
the measure. Meanwhile, officials said they wanted to obtain
Allegheny National Forest Supervisor Kathleen Morse’s approval, but
she was not available prior to the commissioners’ vote.
The county has experienced more than 30 wildfires since the end
of March, according to tabulations done at The Era. Thus far,
nobody has been severely injured as a result of the fires.
In a letter issued to The Era last week, McKean County Emergency
Management Agency Director Steve Nelson and Jim Huckabone,
president of the McKean County Fire Chief Association, urged
residents to use caution when outdoors.
“The ground is extremely dry,” Commissioner Bruce Burdick said
Monday.
A similar ban was imposed as of noon May 6 in neighboring Warren
County, according to officials there. Warren County officials said
the use of gas, charcoal or wood in fire rings for cooking outdoors
or camp fires in fire rings are still permitted. All other forms of
burning outside, however, are prohibited.
That ban will also remain in effect until further notice.
Meanwhile, Morse advised visitors to the forest that the fire
danger is extremely high, noting fires should only be built in fire
rings in developed recreation areas.
Morse said Monday that forest officials are pursuing a fire ban
there, but approval hasn’t been granted yet.
The forest covers parts of McKean, Elk, Warren and Forest
counties. As of last week, Potter County had a voluntary ban in
place, while Elk and Cameron counties had not issued a ban.
Ironically, rain is forecast across the county on Wednesday
night, according to The Associated Press weather report. The
showers are slated to last until at least Saturday.
“When it starts raining, it’s done,” Egbert said of the current
ban.
The last time the county issued a burn ban was last spring, when
a similar rash of wildfires hit the region. The ban was issued
after a rare “Red Flag Warning” from the National Weather Service
was enacted. The warning, which came from the service’s State
College office, covered 31 northcentral Pennsylvania counties,
including McKean, Potter, Cameron, Elk and Warren.
At that time, 17 of the 19 fire chiefs in the county agreed
there was a need to prohibit burning.
In other news, the commissioners unanimously approved a
resolution authorizing the county to enter into a contract with G4S
Justice Services Inc., for electronic monitoring services for the
Juvenile Probation Department.
Officials said the department has been using electronic
monitoring as a means of supervising juveniles as directed by the
court, noting officials there want to have the availability of GPS
monitoring for serious offenders in addition to the radio frequency
monitors that have been used in the past.
According to the resolution, G4S provides both radio frequency
and GPS services. Burdick said the county has a lease agreement in
place with the company.
“The cost will basically be the same,” Casey said. “The only
increase will come if the commissioners decide to take advantage of
the GPS capability for probation.”
Casey said the county had an agreement in place with ADT, which
was purchased by G4S.
“The cost will totally depend on how many kids are being
monitored,” Casey said, adding right now it’s costing the county
$800 to $1,000 a month; with the additional capability, putting one
juvenile on GPS would add $2 a day, or $60 a month to the
total.
“It’s not really a big bump,” Casey said. “We don’t anticipate
the cost to go up other than that.”
Last October, the county announced it would start using the
EXACU-TRACK System from BI Inc., and GPS technology to keep track
of prison inmates who are on work release or community service, but
do not report to regular jobs.
