Gov. Bill Haslam has placed a burn ban on much of the region due to the drought that has sparked wildfires across Tennessee and parts of the south.
Haslam issued the proclamation Monday evening. It placed 51 counties under a burn ban, prohibiting people from conducting any open-air burns.
The ban includes campfires, and burning of brush, vegetation, household waste or construction debris.
It was set to last all month and expire on Dec. 15.
Currently the Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) Division of Forestry is fighting 67 wildfires across nearly 16,000 acres in the Cumberland and East Tennessee districts.
A violation of a burn ban is punishable as a Class A misdemeanor which carries a fine of $2,500 and/or up to 11 months, 29 days in jail.
The counties included in the ban are listed below:
Anderson
Bledsoe
Blount
Bradley
Campbell
Cannon
Carter
Claiborne
Clay
Cocke
Coffee
Cumberland
Dekalb
Fentress
Franklin
Grainger
Greene
Grundy
Hamblen
Hamilton
Hancock
Hawkins
Jackson
Jefferson
Johnson
Knox
Loudon
Macon
Marion
McMinn
Meigs
Monroe
Morgan
Overton
Pickett
Polk
Putnam
Rhea
Roane
Scott
Sequatchie
Sevier
Smith
Sullivan
Trousdale
Unicoi
Union
Van Buren
Warren
Washington
White
