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County lifts burn ban —
for now
Published July 30, 2008
ANGLETON — County
commissioners lifted a countywide burn ban
Tuesday but said it might have to be
reinstated within the next few weeks if the
area does not see more significant rainfall.
Hurricane Dolly, which hit near Brownsville
in South Texas, brought enough rain that
commissioners lifted the ban by a 3-2 vote.
County Judge Joe King voted in favor of
lifting the ban along with Precinct 1
Commissioner Donald “Dude” Payne and
Precinct 4 Commissioner Mary Ruth
Rhodenbaugh. Precinct 2 Commissioner Matt
Sebesta and Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack
Harris voted to leave the ban in place.
Sebesta expressed reservations about lifting
the ban only to bring it back within a week
or two.
“It could be confusing to people,” Sebesta
said.
But King said the change would help people
remove brush they’ve been unable to burn
since the ban was put in place June 10. The
court had imposed the ban on all outdoor
burning as recommended by Brazoria County
Fire Marshal Al Priselac and other fire
professionals due to persistent dry
conditions.
Recent rains lowered the county’s
Keetch-Byram Drought Index number into the
low 500s, which still is a high fire danger
zone, Emergency Manager Kenneth “Doc” Adams
said.
Drought and high fire conditions occur when
the Keetch-Byram scale — which measures
moisture in the soil — tops 500. The Texas
Forest Service had the scale over 500 in the
Brazoria County area Tuesday.
Adams stopped short of recommending lifting
the ban Tuesday.
“Doc thinks we can do it but we’ll have to
revisit it unless we get some rain,” King
said.
Adams replied from the audience, “For a few
days,” referring to the amount of time it
may be safe to burn outside.
Payne said constituents asked that the ban
be lifted, even if only temporarily.
“I’ve had a lot of people asking when they
could burn some things,” Payne said.
Landowners are allowed to burn material
generated from their property, such as old
crops, material generated as a result of
right-of-way maintenance, material from
land-clearing operations and material from
maintenance of water canals, according to
the Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality.
A landowner, King has some brush on his
property that needs to be disposed of, he
said.
“I have three big piles in my pasture,” King
said.
The National Weather Service calls for
virtually no chance of significant rainfall
through Saturday with a 20 percent chance
Sunday and Monday. That could spell trouble
for emergency crews charged with
extinguishing brush fires, Adams said. The 2
to 4 inches of rain Hurricane Dolly dropped
on the area while building in the Gulf of
Mexico last week did little to alleviate
drought conditions and fire danger, he said.
“We had some rain, but it’s getting drier,”
Adams said.
It will take 4 to 6 inches of rain to hold
off reinstatement of the ban, Priselac has
said.
Harris started to make a motion to deny the
measure while Payne simultaneously made a
motion to lift the ban. King seconded
Payne’s motion, putting it to a vote.
The ban initially was for 90 days, but
commissioners reserved the right to lift it
earlier, King said.
The panel agreed it could revisit the issue
at its next meeting on Aug. 12.
Even with county permission, all TCEQ
outdoor burning guidelines must be followed,
Adams said.
Open burning of items cleared from
commercial areas such as subdivisions and
shopping centers is not allowed, although
such materials can be burned in a trench,
according to the TCEQ Web site.
Campfires, cooking fires and fires for
warmth are allowed as long as conditions are
safe.
Other options include recycling, composting,
chipping, mulching, landfills or trench
burning, according to the TCEQ.
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