After last week’s rainy weather, the Haines Borough has lifted its water restrictions, though the burn ban remains in place with some modifications.

The restrictions, which prohibited Haines residents from watering lawns with sprinklers, were canceled on Friday. The Haines Volunteer Fire Department announced modifications to the burn ban last Wednesday, allowing burn barrels with a screen on top and cooking fires in designated fire rings, as long as there is a “means of suppression, like a water hose standing by,” said fire chief Al Giddings.

Bonfires and open flame fires are still prohibited.

Earlier this month, the Chilkat Valley endured a period of abnormally dry conditions and record-breaking temperatures. The Haines Borough responded with a burn ban and restrictions on water use, including stopping water sales to cruise ships.

Demand from Haines residents was straining the borough’s water resources, said water and sewer department supervisor Dennis Durr. Now that the weather has cooled, Durr said, “Our demand has dropped enough that we don’t have to make water at maximum capacity.”

Durr noted that Lily Lake, which supplies about 80 percent of Haines’ water, dropped about a foot during the dry spell. Though the rain has not yet replenished the lost water in Lily Lake, he said, the wet weather has quenched demand from residents.

But the rain has not been enough to have a significant effect on the fire danger, said Giddings.

“We’re still not real comfortable yet with opening it up because things are just too dry,” he said. “We need two days of pretty good rain.”

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