Open Burning

FIRE* Mount Airy: Mount Airy engines responded to a call of open burning along Route 27 near Windermere Way at 8:06 a.m. Friday. Units were out one hour.

FIRE* Manchester: Manchester responded to a call for open burning in the 3800 block of Water Tank Road at 15:50 p.m. Friday. Units were out 21 minutes.Manchester firefighters responded to an auto fire on Benedict Road at 11:07 p.m. Thursday. They were out 30 minutes.

Open burning to be restrictedBeginning tomorrow and continuing through Aug. 31, open burning will be prohibited.Exceptions will be made for bona fide agricultural operations and fire company training exercises.People with previously approved permits have been notified of the change in regulations.The prohibition is the result of regulations imposed May 22 by the Maryland Department of the Environment to help bring Maryland into compliance with the federal Clean Air Act. The regulations restrict open burning in Carroll and other counties in the Baltimore/Washington metropolitan area.

It was a perfect spring weekend: clear skies, mild temperatures and the beckoning outdoors. A balmy feeling of bonhomie pervaded the suburban landscape, the lawns reborn in verdant splendor, daffodils and jonquils bursting into eloquent shades of butter and eggs. A fitting occasion to haul out the dusty charcoal grill and stoke up the barbecue to celebrate the seasonal ritual. Singe a steak, char a chicken.But wait! State officials imposed a total ban on outdoor burning as the weekend began, fearful of the spread of uncontrolled fires in field and forest amid highly threatening weather conditions.

The Triadelphia Reservoir may be more beautiful in early autumn than at any other time of the year.My husband and I paddled our canoe on the "lake" for a very quiet hour on Sunday. Trees that had just begun to redden in August are now brilliant and starting to drop their leaves. Maples gave hints of color yet to come. Neon yellows and lusty golds kept us looking up at the color show that has begun. Bright leaves floated like miniature flags to the surface of the lake, begging us to look one last time.

Dry weather and high winds have contributed to the large number of brush and woods fires in the county last week, said Emergency Operations Center shift supervisor Michael Clapsaddle.Open burning of trash, a violation in Carroll County without the proper permit, started most of the 20 brush and woods fires that required firefighters to respond, Mr. Clapsaddle said.Several fires discovered within 21 minutes on John Owings and Hughes Shop roads Sunday were believed to have been set. One man was questioned but was not charged.