VALDOSTA- A message from Public Information Officer Paige Dukes:

Chief Spradley, our Chief Ranger with Forestry asked me to help get the word out on this.  Forestry has suspended burn permits due to personnel being reallocated to help with storm clean up.  Lowndes County had initially offered tomorrow as an additional burn day as long as permits were available from Forestry.  Now we know that they will not be issuing them.  Also, this covers all the Georgia counties in your listening area.

The Georgia Forestry Commission has temporarily stopped issuing burn permits in 108 Georgia counties under the #HurricaneMichael state of emergency declaration.

“We realize a lot of people are anxious to clean up from the storm,” said Georgia Forestry Commission Chief of Protection Frank Sorrells. “However, with so many of our resources tied up with response and recovery, we’re asking the public to refrain from burning yard debris and doing any agriculture burning.”

Sorrells said having open burning occurring in recovery zones increases the complexity of work for emergency response crews and may take away from assisting in recovery operations. The Georgia Forestry Commission has dispatched chain saw crews, personnel, equipment and air patrols to assess damage and help with road clearing, tree removal and delivery of emergency supplies across the state.

”Safety is always our top concern,” said Sorrells, “and as conditions improve we will reevaluate burn permitting. We’re very appreciative of everyone’s assistance as Georgia pulls together to recover from this disaster.”

For daily updates on burn permitting, visit GaTrees.org or call 1-877-OK-2-BURN.