NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — People wanting to conduct an Open Burn or an Agricultural Open Burn in Reno County must obtain a free burn permit for each parcel that they intend to burn.
"We went through all kinds of different iterations of our burn resolution," said Reno County Emergency Management Director Adam Weishaar. "It was actually adopted by the Board of County Commissioners back in January. We had a whole bunch of professionals in the room that actually came up with that resolution. It got adopted by the commission. Part of that resolution is requiring a burn permit. When we started the burn permit process, we were using a different software and it wasn't quite as user friendly as what we wanted, so we didn't actually require those until now. We're finally to a point with the burn permit software where we think its user friendly and we're ready to roll it out live."
The permit is obtained online at www.renogov.org/controlledburn.
Burn permit registration numbers will be required starting Thursday, June 1, 2023.
"On June 1, anytime you need to do any sort of open burning, agricultural burning, including brush piles, not only do you have to call our non emergency dispatch number, but you also have to have a burn permit number ready," Weishaar said. "That means you've got to get on our website, fill out the burn permit application form. You'll immediately get approved. There's no cost to it. There's no real approval process. As long as you fill out your information in there, you're going to get a burn permit."
Small recreational fires or cooking fires do not require a permit. Each permit is valid from the date of issuance to an expiration date of December 31 of the year in which it is issued. The burn permit holder must notify Hutchinson/Reno County Emergency Communications Center 30 minutes prior to a burn by calling the non-emergency phone number 620-694-2800.
Information that must be provided is name, address, telephone number, permit number(s) and the location, nature and circumstances of the proposed burn. Failure to provide prior notification of the intent to burn constitutes a violation of the resolution and subjects the violator upon conviction to potential penalties.
Out in the county, there's a lot of addresses, there's a lot of farmland that doesn't physically have an address," Weishaar said. "When they call into our dispatch center, they are saying, I'm a quarter mile north of this intersection or I'm a half mile north of this intersection. With our burn permit, they have to actually physically go in and select the parcel they are going to burn, so that also assists response getting out to those areas."
If a person violates the resolution, it can be a Class B misdemeanor up to a $1,000 fine and/or up to 180 days in jail. The previous resolution was a $500 fine and/or 30 days in jail. Dispatchers also are allowed to tell callers if they can burn or not.
"When you call into dispatch, you give them all your information," Weishaar said. "They'll tell you, hey, you can't burn today because of this reason. We ask that you don't get upset with our dispatchers. They are just doing what was promulgated by the commission, what was asked by us, so if you have questions about that process, you can call my office."
For assistance in filling out the new burn permit online, contact the Reno County Emergency Management Office at (620) 694-2793, Natural Resources Conservation Service office at (620) 669-8161, the Farm Service Agency office at (620) 669-8161 or the Reno County Extension office at (620) 662-2371.
Editor's note: Reno County Communications Specialist Sandra Milburn also contributed detailed content for this article.
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