Burn Ban Lifted, But Not Without Dissent

The Fayette County Commissioners Court lifted the burn ban last Thursday, although the decision came with some disagreement.

The Court voted 3-2 to lift the ban at their meeting on Sept. 8, with County Judge Joe Weber, Pct. Pct. 1 Commissioner Jason McBroom and 4 Commissioner Drew Brossmann voting in favor. Pct. 2 Commissioner Luke Sternadel and Pct. 3 Commissioner Harvey Berckenhoff voted against the measure.

Brossmann, who also serves as an assistant fire chief in Schulenburg, said Schulenburg Fire Chief Jeff Proske supported lifting the ban.

“In the Schulenburg area, we haven’t gotten as much (rain) as everyone else has,” Brossmann said. “But it has greened up enough to where if we wanted to lift it, now would probably be the best time to do it so people have a chance to burn.

“We give it a couple weeks, a month or so, and we might have to put it back in if it dries up again,” he added. “But that way, we give people a chance to burn what they need to burn now.”

McBroom said he agreed with Brossmann.

“If you’re going to lift it, this is your window of opportunity,” McBroom said.

McBroom said the fire departments in Winchester and La Grange were in favor of lifting the ban.

“I see no prediction of rain in the County for the next 10 days, but what concerns me more is wind,” Weber said. “We’re probably out of these summer winds.”

Fayette County Emergency Management Chief Craig Moreau reported that three of the eight surrounding counties were under a burn ban as of last Thursday. Those counties were Austin, Washington and Bastrop.

“In four weeks we’ve gotten 1.4 inches (of rain) in my area, so we haven’t gotten anything,” said Berckenhoff. “But I know other people have.”

Berckenhoff said he spoke with leaders from the Flatonia and Muldoon fire departments, whom he said didn’t oppose lifting the ban. However, the weather forecast last Thursday showed little chance of rain for the following two weeks. Berckenhoff said he didn’t want to confuse people by lifting the ban and then putting it back in place in two weeks if the dry weather continues.

Sternadel also opposed lifting the ban

“There’s a lot of dry vegetation underneath that green,” Sternadel said. “There’s still a lot of fuel out there for fires. We’ve got a lot of standing grass that’s been dead from the drought, when there’s no livestock. We still have a lot of hazardous areas.”

Chief Deputy Randy Noviskie of the Sheriff’s Office, who also serves as the Fayetteville Fire Chief, spoke against lifting the ban at the meeting.

“The Town of Fayetteville had rain, and we’ve got green grass you can see on the sides of the road,” he said. “But the ponds aren’t full. We’re still in a drought. Round Top is dry. The Warrenton area is dry. I just think it’s a bad choice right now. You don’t have any significant rain coming. If it were me, I would wait and see what happens in 10 days. Then you could lift it if the rains come back.”

Weber asked Moreau to offer advice as the Emergency Management Chief.

“My general philosophy is that we should lean less on burn bans and more on personal responsibility,” Moreau said.

Instead of relying on burn bans, Moreau said he believes the County should hold people accountable when they start a fire that gets out of control and damages a neighbor’s property

“I don’t think we should ever have a burn ban,” Moreau said. “If people mess up, they should be fined or jailed.”

Weber proposed the motion to lift the ban, and Brossmann seconded the motion, which then passed 3-2