While we did see some rain coming through earlier this week, it was not enough to alleviate the dry ground conditions.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, Indiana County remains in the abnormally dry category, which is the lowest dry-condition category. The majority of Westmoreland County is in a moderate drought, along with a small portion of southern Cambria County. Armstrong, Jefferson, Clearfield and most of Cambria County are also listed as abnormally dry. Those conditions have resulted in three local water authorities to ask customers to voluntarily cut back water use. Those are the Central Indiana County Water Authority, the Indiana County Municipal Services Authority, and Blairsville Municipal Authority.
While no open burn bans have been enacted in Indiana County, Derry and Unity Townships in Westmoreland County have burn bans in place, forbidding open and recreational burning, including campfires and fireworks. Fire officials in Indiana County have warned against open burning for now, as a fire could spread quickly in the dry conditions, and would put a strain on resources for the departments.
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