No burn ban — yet; fire risk high

November 13, 2012, 9:00 pm by James Walker

Burnet County Commissioners Tuesday elected not to institute a burn ban for the unincorporated area of the county, but don’t be surprised if it happens soon.

"We have dried out,” Herb Darling, the county’s environmental services director, told the commissioners at their regular meeting Tuesday. "We are absolutely borderline right now.”

The county’s Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) currently is 538 with a high of 643 and low of 400 the past two weeks, Darling said.

The KBDI attempts to measure the amount of precipitation necessary to return the soil to full field capacity.

It is a continuous index, relating to the flammability of organic material in the ground.

Monday’s overnight freeze in much of the county enhanced the coming need for a burn ban, Darling said.

"With the freeze, our grasses have about all dried out and we are right on the threshold of needing a burn ban,” Darling said.

For more of this story, see Wednesday's Burnet Bulletin.