Rain Can’t Dampen Need for Burn Ban

By Matt Smith, Cleburne Times-Review, Texas

Jul. 16–Despite recent rainfall, the Johnson County Commissioners Court enacted a burn ban Monday, which covers outdoor burning in unincorporated county areas. All four commissioners voted in favor of the ban although they now have the option of enacting or not enacting it within their specific precincts.

County Commissioner Don Beeson said recent grass fires and recommendations from area fire chiefs convinced him the burn ban was necessary. Recent rainfall has not been heavy enough to affect dry conditions throughout the county, he said.

The Texas Forest Service’s Daily Fire Danger Map lists Johnson County’s fire danger as moderate, which County Judge Roger Harmon said he found surprising. Harmon said several area counties have enacted burn bans. The Texas Forest Service employs five ratings, from low to extreme, to rate a county’s fire danger.

The ban in Johnson County remains in effect until Oct. 13 unless commissioners lift it. The ban prohibits burning outside an enclosure sufficient to contain all the flames and sparks, such as barbecue grills or a barrel with a screen, Harmon said.

But burning anything that would cause an environmental hazard is always prohibited, Harmon said.

“Things like tires or plastic,” Harmon said. “The basic rule of thumb is that if it produces black smoke, it shouldn’t be burned.”

The Texas Forest Service bases its Daily Fire Danger map on several factors including drought conditions based on rainfall, said Lewis Kearney, information officer for the Texas Forest Service.

The Granbury location, where Kearney has an office, supports about 85 percent of Texas, he said. Throughout the day a meteorologist and a fire behavior analyst gather weather data and determine fuel moistures of grasses and larger woody and brush materials.

“They can go so far as to determine flame length if they have the correct wind speed,” Kearney said.

The Texas Forest Service supplies the information but plays no role in enacting burn bans, Kearney said. County commissioners courts enact burn bans, he said, using Texas Forest Service information as well as input from local fire and emergency management officials and local conditions.

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