Burn ban still up for consideration

With rain chances increasing in Ector County and the Keetch-Byram Drought Index showing more precipitation on the ground, the burn ban will once again be an item of discussion with county commissioners.

Ector County Judge Susan Redford said because of recent rain chances, the burn ban would be placed on the agenda for the scheduled Feb. 13 meeting.

“It’s defiantly going to be on the agenda,” Redford said. “We’re at the point I want to keep up with it.”

The Keetch-Byram website stated Thursday that Ector County was at 573, below the 575 mark where counties usually issue burn bans. Thursday also showed the county was 18 points lower when commissioners voted to keep the burn ban in place at their Jan. 23 meeting.

The website also listed the Dallas-Fort Worth area as being not in a drought for the first time since July, the first metropolitan area to do so.

The Texas Forest Service stated 109 of Texas’ 254 counties were still under a burn ban as of Thursday. The record was 251 counties in late August.

Meteorologist Intern Michelle Schuldt with the National Weather Service in Midland said rain chances after Thursday would disappear for the rest of the week; however, there would be a small chance of more precipitation by Wednesday of next week.

January saw about 1 inch of rain and was more than January 2011 when the area only saw .04 of an inch, Schuldt said. Future forecasts about rain showed the area to receive a less than average amount for the year.

“It’s kind of hard to say this early on (about future rain chances)” Schuldt said.

Redford said should the weather patterns show improvement for the area, commissioners could lift the ban, even for a temporary basis.

“I feel like the situation is improved and if we receive the anticipated rainfall, we’d have to consider giving our citizens temporary relief,” she said.

Last month, Midland and Howard counties voted to lift their burn bans while Andrews county kept theirs in place. Redford said some people in the county have been given citations for burning in Ector County thinking the ban had been lifted.

Sgt. Gary Duesler with the Ector County Sheriff’s Department said eight citations were given to people burning in the county.

 “Just because Midland lifted theirs, doesn’t mean we did,” Redford said.

@OAgovernment