Burn Bans Have Been Enacted For Some East Texas Counties

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It's hard to believe that fall is here and we're just now seeing burn bans being issued for East Texas counties.

We normally see burn bans issued in East Texas during the summer months because of the lack of rainfall and scorching temperatures, but this wasn't a typical summer for us. This summer we saw more rainfall at the beginning of summer than we typically do. In addition, for the first time in quite a few years, East Texas did not reach one hundred degrees for a high which kept us from losing more moisture from the ground from evaporation.

All good things never last though, as summer rolled on we were seeing less and less rainfall leading to dryer conditions than normal and leading some counties to enact a ban on outdoor burning due to the lack of rainfall and dry conditions within the county.

Currently, East Texas has three active burn bans.

According to the Texas Forestry Sevice and Texas A&M Foresty Service burn ban map:

• Henderson County was the first to enact a burn ban beginning September 22nd.
• Houston County enacted a burn ban on September 22nd.
• Rusk County burn ban went into effect on September 28th.

Although we experienced a brief cool down on the first day of fall, there wasn't any rainfall to cancel these burn bans. Until we get some decent rain, which could happen tomorrow through Friday, these burn bans will remain in effect. Burn bans are issued and canceled by a county judge or commissioners court within that county. Additional counties could be added to the burn ban list if conditions do not improve.

DO NOT DO ANY OUTDOOR BURNING.

If your county is under a burn ban, do not do any outdoor burning. If you are cited for burning anything outdoors while under a burn ban you could face a hefty fine.