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County reinstates burn ban

Wed, 10/05/2022 - 12:00 am

Stephens County Commissioners reinstated the county burn ban Monday, Sept. 26 during their regular scheduled meeting.

Constable Wayne McMullen approached the commissioners with the concern that a burn ban should be put in place before conditions become too dry.

“I spoke to the old fire chief last night and he said the fuel is kind of green right now, but it’s drying real quick. Also, our (Keetch-Byram) drought index is creeping up there. It was at 568 yesterday and will be close to 575 when they update everything today. So it is our recommendation that we put the burn ban back on,” McMullen said.

According to the Texas A&M Forest Service, the estimated KBDI for Stephens County was at 598, as of Monday morning.

Precinct 3 Commissioner William Warren agreed, saying “it’s probably gonna be good to jump on it before it gets bad.”

The ban prohibits burning in all unincorporated areas of the county.

The order does not prohibit outdoor burning related to public health and safety that are authorized by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for firefighter training, public utility, natural gas pipeline or mining operations, planting or harvesting of agricultural crops or burns conducted by a prescribed burn manager who is certified under the Natural Resources Code.

A violation of the order is a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not exceeding $500, in accordance with the Local Government Code.

Stephens County Judge Michael Roach and the commissioners voted unanimously to reinstate the burn ban for 90 days, until Dec. 26, with the exception that it can be removed at McMullen’s recommendation.