BLOOMFIELD, N.M. — San Juan County Fire and Rescue is banning burning permits until further notice, and this is a warning because they are already receiving reports of people being without a permit.

“Definitely don’t burn right now,” said Shay Aurnhammer, Division Chief Special Ops for SJCFR. “It’s a big no-go, but we usually try to do an education portion, you know, try to educate whoever that we’re making contact with, because a lot of people don’t know the rules and regulations as much as we try to put that information out there. However, there are citations that can be written for losing control of the burn or burning when you’re not permitted to (do) anything.”

Aurnhammer said that due to a dry winter, they haven’t seen much of a green-up this spring.

“(What) that means is, usually, you know, things start to bloom and get a little bit more green because of the moisture that they received through the wintertime,” she said. “We didn’t really get that this year. So, everything’s extra dry, and the wind that comes in is not helping anything.”

SJCFR has responded to more than 30 brush fires this month alone.

“Any sort of moisture that we do get this upcoming weekend or in the near future doesn’t mean that we can burn, or the ban is going to be lifted,” Aurnhammer said. “That little bit of moisture will dry up in an instant, especially with these winds.”

Don’t think you can let your guard down any time soon

“It’s concerning just due to the fact that people are still burning, even if we aren’t issuing any burn permits,” Aurnhammer said. “It’s super, super windy, and just the lack of education out there, sometimes people don’t know. They think it’s not that big of a deal to burn a small pile of weeds, then a big gust of wind comes through, and it takes it through somebody else’s field, up against their house, or whatever it may (burn).”

San Juan County Fire and Rescue said they are not sure how long this will last, but you can get updates at their official website.