With a third of Cherokee County classified under extreme drought, an open burn ban is now in place.

The ban went into effect last Thursday, making Cherokee the fourth Northwest Iowa county to issue such an order in recent weeks, joining O’Brien, Plymouth and Sioux.

Justin Pritts, Cherokee County’s emergency management coordinator, submitted the ban request to the State Fire Marshal’s office on behalf of all fire department’s within the county. The ban restricts any outdoor fires, including brush burning, cooking and bonfires.

Residents are able to use propane and charcoal grills that have a cover.

The U.S. Drought Monitor reported on Sept. 22 that 33% of Cherokee County is under extreme drought, while 87% of Plymouth is the same. All of the remaining portion of Cherokee County was deemed severe drought.

The report said that 42% of Iowa has a drought designation and the dry conditions are happening as harvest season gets underway.

The statewide average temperature was more than 4 degrees warmer than normal last week, State Climatologist Justin Glisan said in his weekly report. Average rainfall was about 18% less than what is normally expected this time of year.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported on Sept. 19 that 2% of Iowa’s corn crop had been harvested and that conditions were 58% good or excellent. USDA has predicted that yields  for corn and soybeans will be slightly lower this year.

“We anticipate unseasonably warm and dry weather will continue through the end of September, setting up ideal conditions as harvest activities ramp up,” Mike Naig, the state’s agriculture secretary, said in the Sept. 19 crop progress report.