DeWitt County ‘strongly considering’ burn ban

  • Keetch-Byram drought index as of Oct. 10. Produced by TAMU Spatial Sciences Laboratory in partnership with Texas A&M Forest Service.
    Keetch-Byram drought index as of Oct. 10. Produced by TAMU Spatial Sciences Laboratory in partnership with Texas A&M Forest Service.

    DeWitt County Commissioners warned that another burn ban is on the horizon if dry weather patterns continue. On Monday, the Court opted to delay introducing a burn ban until their next meeting at the soonest but said conditions were trending toward the early summer’s dry spell.

     

    The commissioners encouraged County residents to call and inform the fire department dispatch of burn pile plans. County Judge Daryl Fowler said the County’s index rating used to measure drought severity (Keetch-Byram drought index) was closing in on the trigger threshold for a burn ban.

     

    “We are strongly considering it...,” said Fowler of a burn ban. “We’re probably about three or four weeks away from a real good front coming through here, maybe four weeks from our first little frost.”

     

    Precinct One Commissioner Curtis Afflerbach said the timing of the first freeze is a significant variable in predicting the risk of fires because of the flammability of dead grass. 

     

    “Right now, we do have green grass; that’s (partially) why we’re not choosing to do the burn ban,” said Afflerbach. “Even if you get a fire, it’s burning the dead underneath the green and it is a lot easier to control.”

     

    The commissioners agreed that the driest part of the county was the western half, largely the Precinct Three area.