Frio announces new burn ban

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Frio County officials have responded to wildfire threats during a continuing springtime drought by issuing a renewal of their ban on outdoor burning, which exempts only prescribed fires approved by agricultural authorities.
Under the order signed Monday, March 14, and extending for the next three months, county residents are forbidden from burning trash or brush outdoors and are prevented from using fires to reduce the amount of dry brush and grasses that may ignite close to homes and other property.

Strong winds during dry weather conditions in the past month have challenged local firefighters by increasing the threat of wildfires spreading quickly across the Brush Country and endangering lives and property. Volunteer firefighters from Pearsall, Dilley and Moore have been dispatched daily to handle fires at trash pits and in dry brush that has ignited from hot vehicle exhausts, welding accidents and other outdoor activities related to farming and ranching.
Trash fires in open barrels or pits are banned for the next 90 days because of the likelihood that burning embers will quickly ignite the surrounding brush, according to county officials.
“Circumstances are present in all or parts of the unincorporated areas of the county that create a public safety hazard that would be
exacerbated by outdoor burning,” county commissioners wrote in their order. “All outdoor
burning is prohibited in the unincorporated areas of the county for 90 days from the date of March 16, unless the restrictions are terminated earlier based on a determination made by the Texas Forest Service or this court.
The new burn ban expires on June 16. It does not
prohibit outdoor burning activities related to public health and safety that are authorized by the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality for firefighter training, public utility, natural gas pipeline or mining operations, or planting or harvesting of agricultural crops.
Burning of accumulated
brush or vegetation by farmers and ranchers on their property being cleared with heavy equipment by a land clearing contractor or anyone else who may initiate a burn under the direction of the land
clearing contractor is permitted under the county’s order, but all those doing so must provide “documentary evidence
or such other sufficient proof of such trade when requested first before beginning the operation.”
Also permitted is a burn conducted by a prescribed burn manager certified under Section 153.048 of the Natural Resources Code and meeting the standards of Section 153.047, Natural Resources Code.
County residents are allowed to burn trash in a barrel if the container has an adequate wire mesh or screen on top to contain embers. Open-pit trash and brush fires are strictly prohibited.
Farmers conducting routine burns of prickly pear cactus for their livestock are permitted to continue doing so, although county officials stress the need for adequate supervision and safety practices in order to prevent fires in specific areas from spreading in windy conditions.
Violators of the county burn ban face prosecution under a Class C misdemeanor, which carries a fine of up to $500.