Rise in drought index levels in Montgomery County sparks notice from fire marshal

With the summer heat and lack of rainfall pushing much of Montgomery County's drought index close to 2011 levels, Fire Marshal Jimmy Williams warned residents in the western part of the county of the dangers of burning.

Fire departments serving the west side of the county have recently seen three to four fires per day. While this is a typical number of calls for this time of year, it still means residents who want to burn must be in compliance with municipal and county laws, Williams said.

"The No. 1 issue is 90 percent of wildfires start as a controlled fire getting out of hand," he said. "[Residents need to] make sure they have some water handy and they have to stay with that fire until it burns out. That's one of the reasons we don't recommend burning right now."

The Spatial Sciences Lab at Texas A&M in College Station produces a list of drought indices throughout the state of Texas by county. As of Aug. 19, Montgomery County averaged a rating of 534 on the Keetch-Byram Drought Index.

"In the worst readings, most of the county is below 600," Williams said. "A few areas have crept up around 625. Those same areas were at 695 in 2011."

He said the county starts to get concerned about wildfires when the index is above 650.

As for the data compiled, the lab also produces a worst-case scenario number that reflects what the index will be for a particular county if no rainfall occurs within 14 days. For Montgomery County, the 14-day forecast is an average of 654.

Williams said the biggest thing for residents who want to burn is for them to monitor the fire until it is completely burned out and always have a source of water handy.

"Unless you're willing to stay with your fire until it's out, you should consider postponing it until there is cooler weather."