Amidst Dissent County Lifts The Burn Ban
The Fayette County Commissioners Court removed the burn ban last Thursday, Oct. 8.
They urged residents to exercise caution and common sense when burning. The Court warned that the ban could come back if dry conditions persist. Some areas of the County received two to four inches of rain in the storm that passed through on Oct. 4.
At the Commissioners Court meeting last Thursday, Fayette County Emergency Management Coordinator Angela Hahn advised against lifting the ban. So did Chief Deputy Randy Noviskie of the Sheriff’s Office, who also serves as the Fayetteville Fire Chief.
“We are not forecasted to get any rain for a couple weeks,” Hahn said. “I realize that we had some rain. From what I’ve heard from the few fire chiefs that I’ve talked to, they don’t feel like it’s green enough to lift the burn ban. My recommendation would be that we don’t lift it.”
Pct. 4 Commissioner Drew Brossmann, who serves as an assistant fire chief in Schulenburg, said Schulenburg Fire Chief Darren Guentert wasn’t opposed to lifting the burn ban.
“He wishes it would rain a little more and give the green grass a chance to shoot up, even though we had only about two inches on the south end,” Brossmann said. “It wasn’t as much as we wanted, but there’s a little bit of green grass. There’s still a whole lot of dead grass. And the northerners are blowing in now, but he said he’s fine either way.”
“That’s pretty similar to what I had from Round Top,” said Pct. 2 Commissioner Clint Sternadel.
Pct. 1 Commissioner Jason McBroom said he spoke with one of the fire chiefs in his area who wasn’t opposed to lifting the ban. The other fire chiefs, he said, did not respond. “I would be in favor of lifting it, even if it’s for a short time,” McBroom said.
Pct. 3 Commissioner Harvey Berckenhoff was not in attendance last Thursday. The other three commissioners all said they’ve gotten calls from property owners requesting them to lift the ban. Residents are reminded to call the Sheriff’s Office at (979) 968-5856 if you plan to burn. This helps prevent unnecessary calls to the fire departments if they know you are burning and the fire is under control.