At a commissioners court meeting, members unanimously approved a county-wide burn ban, which started Sept. 24 at noon.
What residents should know
The burn ban comes from the county's severe drought conditions, according to a news release sent to Community Impact. County Judge Bill Gravell can lift the ban if conditions improve before late December—the latest month the ban can go.
Combustible material must be burned in an enclosure that contains all sparks or flames, and burning the following items violates the ban:
- Household yard waste
- Leaves, grass, brush and yard trimmings
- Trees, stumps, shrubbery or other natural vegetation in an attempt to clear land
How we got here
The Keetch-Byram Drought Index is a factor used to determine drought conditions, using a scale of 0-800. KBDI values of 600 or higher can be brought to the court for burn ban consideration.
A Sept. 16 burn ban evaluation matrix from the Williamson County Fire Marshal’s Office shows the county’s average KBDI reading at 610, with some areas reaching 696.
According to the evaluation, 75.9% of the county is classified as “abnormally dry” by the U.S. Drought Monitor Scale.
In case you missed it
At an Aug. 27 Williamson County Commissioners Court meeting, members opted to not issue the ban and revisit it later, according to previous Community Impact reporting.
