Burn ban remains as rain not enough
A countywide burn ban will stay in place, the Burnet County Commissioners Court decided Tuesday, Nov. 8. The county remains in an extreme drought. Recent rainfall was too little and too localized, commissioners learned at their regular meeting.
The burn ban was put on Tuesday’s agenda by County Judge James Oakley, who said he had hoped recent rainfall would be more widespread and the ban could be lifted. Western Burnet County and much of Llano County received up to a half-inch of precipitation this past week, according to the LCRA Hydromet, but most of Burnet County had little to no rain.
“Judge, we’re still really dry on the south end of the county,” said Precinct 4 Commissioner Joe Don Dockery.
The Commissioners Court made no motion to lift the ban and continued with county business.
Llano County also has a burn ban in effect. In fact, 110 of Texas’ 254 counties are under a ban.
Burnet County is in extreme drought, according to the Keetch-Byram Drought Index, which the county uses as a guideline for drought policy, Dockery told DailyTrib.com. The KBDI ranking for southern Burnet County as of Nov. 8 is 509 on a scale of 800, indicating above-average drought conditions.
“The recent rainfall that happened was localized and not countywide,” Dockery said. “We’re looking for a countywide event to provide us with an adequate amount of rainfall that would relieve the drought conditions.”
