slideshow

Despite a relatively wet weekend, Logan County remains under a burn ban - which includes the setting off of fireworks.

Logan County Judge Executive Logan Chick said he spoke with officials from the state Department of Forestry on Monday morning, and they want to make sure that the rainfall Logan County has received in the past week has been sufficient to minimize the risk of fires getting out of hand.

“Whenever you have a burn ban like this and then you lift it, everybody that has been waiting to burn things is going to be doing it all at once,” Chick said. “The Department of Forestry wants to make sure everything is good before we lift it.”

Chick said the Department of Forestry will assess the conditions in the next day or two and get back to him about lifting the ban.

The decision to lift the ban is ultimately up to Chick, but he said most judge executives consult with the Department of Forestry first before making any final decisions.

The ban seems to have been effective, though.

Chick said he only knew of two fires that occurred during the burn ban so far.

“As far as I know, we stayed pretty quiet,” he said.

Chick said one of the fires was believed to have been caused by a lightning strike and another that was caused when a limb fell into some electrical wires.

If you live in the city of Russellville, however, you can finally set off fireworks legally again.

Mayor Mark Stratton issued an executive order on Friday afternoon stating that because of the rain, fireworks will now be allowed inside the city limits.

After a very hot, dry June, Logan County has seen some much needed rain in July.

According the the Kentucky Mesonet Station at the Baker Natural Area in Russellville, Logan County has seen 2.43 inches of rainfall this month, with practically all of that coming since Sunday, July 8.

During the whole month of June, Logan County got less than one inch of rain with no recorded rain falling in the last 18 days of the month.