Due to increasingly dryer soil, the DeWitt County Commissioners issued a 90-day burn ban order at a special meeting on October 3.
“Things have dried out significantly in the last six weeks, and there’s plenty of fuel around,” County Judge Daryl Fowler said.
The ban order, which can be found on the De-Witt County homepage, took effect on October 4. Private open burns are prohibited, but there are exceptions listed in the ban.
All persons conducting a burn are required to notify the County Sheriff Dispatch Office (361-275-5734) and the responsible fire department on the day of the burn. A violation of the burn ban is punishable by a fine up to $500 and re-imbursement for any fire calls.
Before voting on the ban, commissioners passed around a copy of the KBDI drought index map, released by the Texas Forestry Service, that indicated some parts of the county are at extreme fire risk.
The Keetch-Byrum Drought Index attempts to measure the amount of rain needed to bring the top eight inches of soil back to saturation. Zero represents complete soil saturation. 8.00, which is the maximum measurement, means it would take eight inches of rain to fully saturate the soil.
DeWitt County has been averaging a KBDI of 5.95, according to Judge Fowler. He said the trigger point for consideration of a burn ban is 5.50.
The judge can rescind the burn ban at any time if there’s enough rain to lower the average dryness measurement. For now, the ban will last until January 4, 2025.
