With conditions continuing to get drier and no rain in sight, the Polk County Fire Marshal issued a county burn ban effective last week.

The county burn ban means there is no outdoor burning allowed anywhere, including controlled burns within 100 feet of homes.

Sandra Halford, who currently performs the county fire marshal duties because the county does not have a fire marshal, says the county decided to issue a burn ban because the area is under&bsp; extraordinary drought conditions and has experienced several fires lately.

She said the county issued a burn ban in hopes of stopping fires, most of which have been started accidentally lately.

Little if any rain is forecast in the next week, with low chances of scattered showers this week and only a moderate chance of scattered showers on Sunday.

This is the first county wide burn ban issued in Polk County at least in recent years.

Polk County has been experiencing drought conditions since the spring of 2007. Officials say the current drought is the worst in recorded North Carolina history. The area was returned last week to &dquo;exceptional&dquo; drought status, the most severe drought classification.

For more information or to be notified when the county burn ban is lifted, contact the Polk County Fire Marshal&squo;s Office at 828-894-2387.