A prolonged stretch of dry weather and drought conditions is making outdoor burning dangerous. Pella Fire Chief Doug Van Gorkom says while there isn’t a formal ban against controlled burns in Marion County, he advises against doing so in the short term, as conditions are favorable for fires to get out of control. Van Gorkom says anyone who does decide to burn needs to report those to the Pella Police Department if they are in the Pella Fire Department’s jurisdiction, to make sure they aren’t called out to extinguish those same flames.