BROOKINGS — If you had your heart set on conducting a controlled burn today or in the days ahead, well, you can shelve those plans.

Following a request from the Brookings County Fire Chiefs Association, the Brookings County Commission enacted a county-wide open burn ban on Friday at a special meeting on a 5-0 vote. The ban came about “due to the lack of current moisture” in the county, according to the resolution. It’s expected to remain in force for the foreseeable future, as the next reasonable chance of rain isn’t until Wednesday night.

“When we do a burn ban, that’s what we’re going after is the people trying to burn vegetation in fields and trees and stuff like that,” Emergency Management Director Bob Hill told the Brookings Register.

He added, “Even though the grass is starting to green up, the fuel under the grass is still dry to a point where if a spark starts a fire, it’s just going to go raging out of control.”

Hill said while campfires, burn barrels and bonfires are still permissible, they need to be watched continuously and thoroughly doused once they’re no longer being used.

That said, it’s probably wise to avoid anything outdoors that’s fire-related. This is especially true on Sunday, with the National Weather Service issuing a fire weather watch for that day and night because humidity levels could be as low as 15% with winds gusting up to 45 mph.

— Contact Mondell Keck at mkeck@brookingsregister.com.