By Mark Woolsey

The annual air-pollution-fighting outdoor burn ban has gone into effect in Cobb and 53 other Georgia counties.

To see if your county is included in the ban, follow this link to the Environmental Protection Division website.

From May 1 to Sept. 30, residents and businesses are not allowed to burn leaves, tree limbs and yard debris and have to use air curtain destructors for land clearing instead of burning those materials.

The county says the ban helps improve air quality, dampens ground-level ozone formation during the summer, and protects respiratory health, especially for children and the elderly. It’s in addition to a year-round statewide ban on torching household garbage.

 Cobb County Fire and Emergency Services is responsible for enforcing the state ban in unincorporated Cobb County and the cities of Acworth, Kennesaw, Mableton, and Powder Springs.