With drought and fire dangers persisting — and perhaps extra inspiration from a recent four-acre blaze near Lawrenceville — the Gwinnett County fire department has issued a temporary ban on all outdoor burning.
A temporary ban on smoking, fires and grilling at local parks was also announced Friday.
Wildfires have raged across huge swaths of north Georgia for weeks, destroying tens of thousands of acres and requiring assistance from departments across metro Atlanta. On Thursday, the state Environmental Protection Division declared a Level 2 drought in 52 counties, including metro Atlanta and much of north Georgia.
In Gwinnett, a wildfire that began late Wednesday afternoon in Harbins Park burned for nearly 24 hours and torched about 4.5 acres, officials said. Its cause is undetermined.
The countywide burn ban includes the burning of yard waste and debris, commercial land clearing and "pit burns," as well as "the discontinuance of permits for all bonfires," Gwinnett fire Capt. Tommy Rutledge said.
"The ban on outdoor burning is temporary and will be rescinded when significant rainfall has occurred and the drought conditions have improved substantially," Rutledge said in a news release.
The Gwinnett Parks Foundation posted the news about the parks and recreation department's own ban on Facebook on Friday afternoon.
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