Due to lack of rain and drier-than-normal conditions, county officials implore area residents to practice fire safety protocols.
So far, the most notable reports have involved multiple acre grass fires extinguished by rural fire agencies before becoming wildland blazes. No threats or damage to property were reported however as revelers transitioned into the new year, according to public safety reports.
“The biggest concern just because of the humidities that we’ve had, it’s our grasses that we’re most concerned with … they’re very quick to respond to weather change,” said Burnet County Emergency Management Coordinator Derek Marchio.
A 15% humidity range and an extreme fire index hastened county officials to ban aerial fireworks in the unincorporated areas. Municipalities including the city of Granite Shoals followed suit by banning the use of all fireworks within the city limits.
“Within the last two weeks, we’ve had a couple of fire danger statements come out,” he said. “I know it’s of concern across the state and being that we’re under a burn ban still, it’s definitely always a concern,” Marchio added. “It’s because of our lack of rain over the last 90 days.” (Find more on the state fire danger activation protocol on Page 4).
“Parts of the county from 10-15% of normal versus 25-50% of normal,” Marchio said. “We’ve only received about 20-25% of normal rainfall across the county.”
“We’re still in a drought. Basically, our drought conditions really started end of August, beginning of September.
“Rainfall that we’ve had since then have been extremely minimal. Hasn’t made our drought worse, but hasn’t made it any better,” he continued.
To minimize the hazards of the fire danger, Marchio recommended residents take a few precautions.
“Make sure any chains on trailers and truck are secure and won’t be dragging down the road, causing sparks,” he said. “Don’t throw cigarettes out the window. Those types of things.
“If you are doing thing that might cause a spark, be sure and have a water source on hand to quickly extinguish anything,” he said. “Be very cautious.”
