County extends disaster declaration in response to severe drought conditions

Stephens County Commissioners extended a disaster declaration and total burn ban during an emergency meeting Monday morning. The order, signed by Stephens County Judge Michael Roach July 18, will be in effect until Wednesday, Aug. 17.

Roach first signed the declaration of local disaster last week due to the severe drought conditions in the county.

In a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott, dated July 11 and posted July 12, Roach stated that he was asking for the declaration to be extended due to the county’s Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) being higher than normal.

“Our county is in exceptional droughts as verified through the KBD Index of 630 and rising each day. In this county, we have lots of wind, which is a considerable threat when fires exist and have further led to these exceptional dry conditions. Recently our county has had numerous fires and our fire management resources are limited. The Stephens County Commissioners and I feel that prohibiting all outdoor burning until the local conditions improve could save lives and property in Stephens County,” he wrote. “(...) I request that Governor Abbott extend the disaster declaration until the drought conditions in Stephens County no longer exist and our KBDI index is under 575 for 7 days.”

According to the Texas A&M Forest Service KBDI viewer, Stephens County was at an average of 654 as of Sunday, July 17.

“The drought index ranges from 0 to 800, where a drought index of 0 represents no moisture depletion, and an index of 800 represents absolutely dry conditions. Presently, this index is derived from ground based estimates of temperature and precipitation derived from weather stations and interpolated manually by experts at Texas A&M Forest Service (TAMFS) for counties across the state. Researchers at Texas A&M University are working with TAMFS to derive this index from AVHRR satellite data and NEXRAD radar rainfall within a GIS,” the website states.

Roach also issued a burn ban prohibiting all outdoor burning in the county.

The ban requires those who perform activities which may emit a flame or spark provide the Breckenridge Fire Department with the activity location beforehand. BFD can be contacted at 254-559-6242.

It also requires them to have a spotter present to supervise any activity to prevent a fire or its spreading They must also have a minimum of 50 gallons of water within the immediate vicinity of the activity, with an adequate mechanism to dispense the water.

“(...) the purpose of this order is the mitigation of the hazard posed by wildfires by curtailing the practice of outdoor burning, whose purpose is to be taken into account in any enforcement action based upon this order,” the order states.

According to the burn ban, those who violate the order may face criminal prosecution.