Burn ban on for Clark County

This post was updated to correct the number of reported fires in Clark County as of 9 p.m.

A burn ban was put into effect for Clark County on the afternoon of Wednesday, March 19, 2025, per county Judge Troy Tucker.

Burning outdoors is strictly prohibited until the ban is lifted. Violation of the ban can result in a misdemeanor charge and a fine.

Extremely high winds have made outdoor burning unsafe. Any fires that develop will likely spread rapidly. Winds of 20-30 mph with gusts as high as 45 mph are possible in the Arkadelphia area through Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service in Little Rock.

Additionally, humidity levels are expected to drop to the 20th percentile after a frontal boundary moves across the area.

Local fire agencies on Wednesday were dispatched to neighboring Hot Spring County for reports of a large fire, caused by a downed power line, in the Bismarck area. Hot Spring County is also under a burn ban. Clark County Sheriff Jason Watson said there were multiple local agencies dispatched to that fire in the Caney community, where residents on Highway 128 were being evacuated at the time of this writing, at 4 p.m.

Residential evacuations were also reported in Camden, according to The Camden News.

Another fire on Skyline Drive had the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers seeking assistance from outside agencies.

Watson reported that all of the 19 reported fires had been contained by 8 p.m. with no property damage reported as yet. There were still some power outages in the northern part of the county, the sheriff said.

At about 9:20 p.m. DeGray volunteer firefighters were dispatched to a separate fire on Pierce Road.