Rob Kelly announced during the county commissioners' meeting that he had a lifted the burn ban for unaffected areas, effective Monday.
"I've lifted the burn ban on a limited basis," he explained. "If you call into the sheriff's office and the dispatcher, there's a record kept of that, and that is your formal permit to burn. If you don't do it, you don't have a permit ... you will be fined."
The fine is $500. Burn piles must not be left unattended. Only daytime burning is permitted and burn piles should be extinguished by the time evening darkness sets in. Kelly said volunteer fire departments have been directed to extinguish fires that are not put out by then.
The judge said no burning is allowed in affected or previously flooded areas along the river, described as highwater mark to highwater mark.
Kelly said once the state confirms areas are clear of human remains, the county plans to rotate burning through a series of zones so the county is not all lit up at once.