ROCHESTER, Minn. – A ban on all open fires in all 655 square miles of Olmsted County was ordered by Sheriff Kevin Torgerson.. Apparently the ban will extend through the Labor Day weekend if not longer. The forecast includes high temperatures, dry air and winds amid the already-extreme drought condition. Torgerson did not say whether extra patrols would be assigned to campsites where hundreds of people are encamped for the last holiday of summer. Torgerson said he issued the ban on guidance from Rochester Fire Chief Eric Kerska, several other fire chiefs in the county, and the National Weather Service. The ban, he said, overrides previously issued burn permits.
Torgerson. Sheriff didn’t specify any end date on ban.
Olmsted County. Epicenter of extreme drought. Population center: Rochester, Outlying: Byron, Chatfield, Eyota, Oronoco, Pine Island, Stewartville.