The Travis County Commissioners Court took no special action during its June 11 meeting to regulate fireworks in the unincorporated areas of the county for the July 4 fireworks season.

Fire Marshal Hershel Lee encouraged residents to attend public fireworks displays and to follow manufacturers' recommendations when using commercially made fireworks.

The July 4 fireworks season takes place June 24–July 4.

No ban on restricted fireworks

Lee explained that county officials would be unable to ban restricted fireworks—missiles with fins and rockets with sticks—before the June 15 deadline because the county's average moisture levels did not meet drought requirements.

The county measures drought levels using the Keetch-Byram Drought Index, a scale in which zero represents total saturation and 800 represents a complete absence of moisture.

To ban restricted fireworks, the county's KBDI average would need to be 575, as determined by the Texas Forest Service. On June 3, the county average was 220, Lee said.

"Conditions are such, at the writing of this memo [June 11], that Travis County Commissioners Court may not use the Local Government Code to restrict the sale of fireworks," Lee wrote in a letter to the court.

"[The] Travis County Fire Marshal's Office will monitor the conditions relevant to outdoor fires and fireworks. We will communicate any significant change to the county judge and Commissioners Court."

Lee noted that the only way the county could regulate fireworks during this fireworks season would be through a declaration of local disaster.

Burn ban

Lee did not advise the county to ban outdoor burning in unincorporated areas during the June 11 meeting.

He said unless the county receives more rainfall, the KBDI average would be 450–550 by July 4.

Lee noted that, if enacted, an outdoor burn ban would not regulate the sale of fireworks.