County Judge Issues Burn Ban In Response to Dry, Windy Conditions

Fayette County Judge Dan Mueller has issued an emergency burn ban effective immediately as of Saturday, March 15, at 3:15 p.m.

Under the authority of Texas Local Government Code, Section 352 and the County’s emergency burn ban protocols, outdoor burning is prohibited and violations are subject to criminal penalties.

“The County remains under a Red Flag warning and high winds are expected to continue throughout the next week,” said the Fayette County Office of Emergency Management in a statement on Saturday.

“Please refrain from activities that could spark fast growing and out of control fires, needlessly taxing our 100% volunteer firefighting workforce,” the statement continued.

Fayette County Sheriff Keith Korenek reported that a grass fire burned about 15 acres near FM 609 and Gerbert Road in the Muldoon area on Saturday. The Texas A&M Forest Service, Muldoon Volunteer Fire Department, and Flatonia Fire and Rescue all assisted with that fire. Fayette County Sheriff’s Deputies responded as well.

In addition, the Sheriff’s Office reported that 911 dispatchers were innundated with calls Saturday afternoon reporting smoke in the Warda area. There was no fire in that area. Those callers may have been seeing haze from the massive grass fire in Fredericksburg that day. About 10,000 acres burned, and strong winds carried the smoke miles and miles away. Visibility was extremely poor in Austin and Bastrop.