Local · Trusted · Free
The Morning Impact — your neighborhood's most important stories, delivered every morning.
The Bastrop County Commissioners Court extended the burn ban through Nov. 12. The county has been under a burn ban since Aug. 26.
Who is affected?
Residents living within unincorporated areas of the county are prohibited from any outdoor burning until the order is lifted.
What you need to know
According to the burn ban order, enforcement for outdoor fires includes:
Bastrop County's Keetch-Byram Drought Index, or KBDI, has climbed from 338 on Aug. 7 to 716 on Oct. 29, according to Water Data for Texas.
The KBDI scale ranges from 0-800, and the Texas A&M Forest Service website explains that any level above 400 indicates a high potential for wildfires with extreme intensity.
For reference, the KBDI on Sept. 4, 2011, the day the Bastrop County Complex Fire ignited, was 789.
What else?
Those with questions can reach out to James Altgelt, Bastrop County emergency management coordinator, at 512-581-4022.
A list of what residents can and cannot do while a burn ban is in place can be found on the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality website.
