County bans open flames

Violators face penalties of up to $500 or 60 days in jail for setting bonfires and campfires, burning trash or yard debris or setting off fireworks.

By ALISA ULFERTS

© St. Petersburg Times, published April 19, 2000

DADE CITY -- County commissioners have decided that only you can prevent forest fires.

Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved a ban on open flames, including campsite fires and the use of fireworks, until the area sees significant rain.

Their move came after state forestry officials warned that parts of east Pasco were approaching desert-like conditions.

"It's a perilous nature," Commissioner Steve Simon said.

Residents of unincorporated Pasco County who violate the emergency ordinance could face fines up to $500 or 60 days in jail if they are caught setting bonfires and campfires, burning trash or yard debris or setting off fireworks.

It's the last part that bothers Sharon Hunnewell, president of Galaxy Fireworks in Tampa.

"We are a company. And what you are trying to do is restrict what we can do," Hunnewell said. She vowed to fight the county's ordinance in court.

Unlike in 1998, drought conditions across the state have not yet warranted a statewide ban on open flames and fireworks, Emergency Services Director Matthew Ballaban said.

"In some areas of the state, there has been rain," Ballaban told commissioners. That's why state forestry officials are going county by county and asking those that have especially dry areas to ban open flames, he said.

But Hunnewell questioned the severity of the drought in Pasco, saying she had information from state forestry officials that suggested Pasco's condition was moderate, not severe. Hunnewell added she'd find the ordinance more palatable if it included a clause she said was used by other counties in which the ordinance is automatically repealed if the dry conditions drop below a certain level on an index that is measured by the state.

But county commissioners said the possible economic effects suffered by fireworks businesses did not outweigh the need to protect residents from wildfires.

"We have a lot more citizenry to look out for than just one industry," Simon said.

Individuals who get an open burn permit from the state are exempt from Pasco's ordinance, as long as they follow the safety conditions of the state permit, county officials said. Since Jan. 1, more than 40,000 acres have burned across the state. Pasco has had a few wildfires of its own this year that were quickly contained, county officials have said.

In other action at Tuesday's meeting, commissioners delayed until next month a request from migrant farm-worker advocate Margarita Romo to rename Lock Street outside of Dade City to Calle de Milagros, or Street of Miracles. Romo and Dade City historians want to change the image of the street and surrounding area, now known for drug and gang activity. But commissioners said they wanted more time to study the proposal, including how it would affect mailing addresses.

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