The gist
Given recent rainfall across the county, the court decided to revisit the burn ban agenda item in two weeks.
Williamson County Fire Marshal Hank Jones said that while the county is experiencing some rain, it isn’t out of drought-like conditions. According to a burn ban evaluation matrix document from the Williamson County Fire Marshal’s Office, Jones had recommended a burn ban.
The evaluation used different factors to determine county conditions, one of which being the Keetch-Byram Drought Index, or KBDI. The KBDI uses a scale of 0-800 to determine drought conditions, and on the morning of Aug. 27, Williamson County averaged 626, with a hot spot reading of 671, Jones said to commissioners.
Hot spots are areas experiencing high heat that haven’t received rainfall, creating a higher KBDI, Jones said in an email to Community Impact.
When a KBDI number exceeds 600, a burn ban can be brought before the court, County Judge Bill Gravell said.
“We’re still above that, absent the results of today’s rainfall,” Gravell said the morning of Aug. 27.
The fire marshal's most updated burn ban monitoring report shows the county’s average KBDI dropped to 589, which will likely continue falling over the next few days given the cooling effects of rain, Jones said in the email.
What else?
If imposed, a countywide burn ban would not exceed 90 days, and Gravell would have the authority to lift the order upon improved outdoor conditions, according to county documents.
On Aug. 20, neighboring Travis County implemented a burn ban in effect until Sept. 3 for its unincorporated areas, according to previous reporting by Community Impact.
