After just over two weeks, the outdoor burn ban was officially lifted for Clinton County last Friday, July 13, some 15 days after having been put into place.

Clinton County Judge/Executive Lyle Huff lifted the county-wide ban on outdoor burning and fireworks after issuing the executive order on June 28.

Although the ban order lasted just a couple of weeks, it probably seemed longer than that to those individuals who wanted to burn debris outside or set off fireworks, around the July 4 holiday week.

The order was put in place due to the extreme dry conditions, which also brought with it one of the longest heat waves in history all across the state and region, with actual temperatures topping the 100 degree mark on several occasions over an almost three-week period, not to mention heat indexes that reached upwards to around 110 degrees, prompting almost daily heat advisories being issued.

Relief finally came for most of the state, including in Clinton County, early last week with almost daily rainfall and a cooling down period from the sweltering heat that took its toll on lawns, gardens and the farming community.

The statewide outdoor burn ban was also lifted last week by Governor Steve Beshear.

Even with the recent rains, almost all of the state is in some degree of “drought,” even locally where sufficient moisture allowed the burn ban to be lifted, but the effects of a dryer than normal spring still leaves the area with drought-like conditions.

In fact, the entire region went from extreme dryness to almost daily periodic rain showers and occasional thunderstorms that supplied enough moisture to keep outdoor burning from being as extremely dangerous as it had been in late June and the first week of July.

The extreme dry conditions also kept emergency personnel, especially the fire department and forestry service officials totally busy as a host of grass fires and woodland fires were reported over the period. Apparently several hundred acres of woodland was burned in different areas of the county throughout the period.

According to Will Ed Lowhorn, who keeps precipitation statistics locally for the National Weather Service, the Albany/Clinton County area received on average 3.24 inches of rainfall through the first two full weeks of July, ending this past Saturday. Ironically, the most rainfall in any one-day period came one day after the ban was lifted when last Saturday, brought 1.4 inches of rain in the downtown area.

Although the outdoor burn ban is now officially lifted and there is almost a daily chance of rain throughout most of this week, it is still summer, one of the driest periods of the year in Kentucky, and more hot and dry conditions could again occur in the weeks and months ahead. Further, people are still reminded to use caution when burning anything outdoors, especially close to wooded areas.

The heat and dry conditions took a heavy and in some cases, irreversible toll on some areas of agriculture and horticulture crops, not to mention gardens and the stress put on animals and cattle.