Rainfall Allows County Burn Ban Lift
It was pretty obvious in the regular session of the Palo Pinto County Commissioner’s Court on November 14 that the authorities were jovial in their decision to remove the Burn Ban today.
Apparently their constituents have been in their ear about the ban and this mornings wet conditions obviously made the decision much easier.
Palo Pinto County has been under a total ban since early July before Independence Day when the county was experiencing drought like conditions and had already experienced a massive wildfire outbreak.
Dry conditions remain across the region but fortunately the county has seen decent precipitation in the last few weeks. According to Jeff Petrel with the Palo Pinto County Scanner Group, it rained 2.76 inches in October and 3.15 inches in November to date.
Five inches of rain in a few weeks time allowed the court to unanimously voted to lift the burn ban.
Prior to the vote Commissioner Jeff Fryer joked, “As many people that have been chewing me out, we need to remove it at least for a week.”
Normally Judge Long would defer to the County Fire Chief or the Emergency Management Coordinator for input, but both of those positions are currently vacant. Mineral Wells Fire Department Chief Ryan Dunn happened to be in the audience for unrelated business and Long asked for his thoughts on the ban.
“I think it would be good for week. We have enough moisture on the ground,” said Dunn.
After the vote, Commissioner Mike Reed joked as well, pulling out his phone and saying he needed to send a few text messages to some people.
Obviously it was a moment of laughter and sarcasm in the room indicating just how difficult these Burn Ban decisions can be for county officials to make.
For now, the Burn Ban is off in Palo Pinto County.
And just remember, it’s always a good idea to check with the Sheriff’s Office before you burn.
