Lavaca County burn ban lifted

Following recent rains in the county, Judge Keith Mudd issued an executive order calling for the burn ban to be lifted as of Friday, Oct. 13.

According to a post on the Lavaca County website, county residents are advised when conducting outdoor burning to include:

• Not all areas of the county are safe to burn. Use extreme care and caution.

• Please notify the Sheriff ’s Office at 361-798-2121 if you intend to have a controlled burn of brush piles or pastures. This prevents unwarranted fire/rescue response.

• Please have safeguards in place before attempting any burning.

• All fires must be attended and monitored at all times.

• Any person who chooses to conduct a burn of any kind is liable for any and all damages caused as a result of that burn.

At the July 10 Lavaca County Commissioners’ Court meeting, the Court approved an order Prohibiting Burning in all unincorporated areas of Lavaca County that was recommended by the Lavaca County Fire Chiefs’ Association (LCFCA).

The ban was put in place at that time based on data received from Texas A&M AgriLife and Texas A&M Forest Service using the Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI.

During this time it was decided to alleviate confusion with the LCFCA in determining the calling for a burn ban by using a KBDI scale using moisture availability in soil depth between zero and eight inches.

The association decided to use a scale index of anything higher than 500 to initiate an outdoor burning ban, which meant if the average of conditions throughout Lavaca County is above a 500 index rating a burn ban would be enacted and remain in place for 90 days or until the KBDI average falls below 500.

On Sunday, Oct. 15, the KBDI average for the county stood at 480.50.

Despite the burn ban now lifted, the all Lavaca County Volunteer Fire Departments and the Lavaca County Office of Emergency Management request that prior to starting any controlled burning (woodpiles, fields or large refuse piles), to please call the Lavaca County Communications Center at 361-798-2121.

When calling the Center, they will ask you for the location and a contact number and by doing this you will help prevent the needless dispatching of volunteer fire departments and also receive information if a Burn Ban or Red Flag Warning is in place.

A Red Flag Warning can be issued by the National Weather Service or the Lavaca County Office of Emergency Management and is based on the National Weather Service (NWS) warm temperatures, very low humidity and when stronger winds are expected. These conditions together can produce an increased risk of fire danger.

A Red Flag Warning from the Lavaca County Office of Emergency Management will be based on the above local conditions, plus the local KDBI numbers for the county and would include:

• The amount of dead surface vegetation.

•The number of control burns that have gotten out of control and needed Volunteer Fire Department(s) intervention, the number of fire departments that are involved in firefighting operations and forecast weather conditions.

Red Flag Warnings issued by the Lavaca County OEM last for a 24 hour period and expire at 6:30 a.m. the following day.

Conditions are re-evaluated daily and the warning is allowed to expire or is re-issued for the next 24 hour period.

A Red Flag Warning is not enforceable as a Burn Ban order, but compliance is voluntary and respectfully requested.