Burn ban is back

The burn ban is back on throughout Hays County.

County Fire Marshal Scott Raven recommended the burn ban be reinstated at last week’s commissioners court meeting.

When the burn ban is in effect, all outdoor burning, even in burn barrels with or without lids, is prohibited. Food grills with lids are allowed, but grill masters are encouraged to keep a water source nearby, and to never leave a grill unattended until coals are cool.

In determining whether a burn ban is called for, the Fire Marshal’s Office reviews reports from several sources and consults with local fire chiefs.

“It is dry outside,” Wimberley Fire Chief Carroll Czichos said. “The moisture has gone out of the ground right now. The KBDI index is high. If you walk around you go look at slabs and you can see where the dirt is pulling away from the slabs due to the moisture leaving. When the KBDI gets up that high, we’ve got some green grass, but there isn’t much moisture so it will burn real quick.”

The Keetch-Byram Drought Index tells how dry the area is. Hays County is generally in the 600 to 700 KBDI range, which is the second driest level on the KDBI map. Czichos said that there have already been a few small fires in the area.

“We had a few small grass fires start up that shouldn’t have,” Czichos said. “One started in the H-E-B parking lot, and we had leafs catch on fire behind the car wash. The only reason we could figure out is somebody must have thrown something hot down there. Across the county we are picking up grass fires here or there. It is not going to get any better until we get some rain. And a little rain won’t do it. We will be in the burn ban likely for a couple of months.”