With the strong winds whipping up today, the Iowa Fire Marshal is puttingout an urgent plea that NO open burning be done. By noon today, open burningwill be banned in a total of 18 counties, but Roy Marshall says very dryconditions make a potentially deadly combination with the high wind.The National Weather Service says winds gusts could get as high as 60 milesan hour in parts of the state today. Marshall says even people in countieswhere burning is permitted should NOT be burning leaves today.A wind advisory runs from southwest to northeast Iowa today while a highwind WARNING is in effect for parts of northwest Iowa. In the past fewweeks, Marshall says there’ve been several incidents across the state wheresmall fires have gotten out of control & scorched acres of crops orgrassland.The following 16 counties are now under a burn ban: Buena Vista, Osceola,Jasper, Hardin, Boone, Wright, Freemont, Page, Crawford, Cass, Audubon,Calhoun, Shelby, Marion, Sac & Palo Alto. Dubuque and Monona counties arebeing added at noon today.