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

“We realize a lot of people are anxious to clean up from the storm,” said Frank Sorrells, Georgia Forestry Commission chief of protection. “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,” Sorrells said, “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.