Staff Report
The forecast is hot and dry.
That’s not at all unusual for Central Texas in August, but cause for caution nonetheless.
Hays County is currently under a burn ban and the TAMU-based Texas Forest Service is warning of the increased risk of wildfire.
The county burn ban, which has been in effect since July 28 and will remain in effect until the commissioners court takes action to undo it.
That’s not likely to be soon, as the Forest Service says the weather pattern for the upcoming week resembles that in place July 9-17, noting that fire activity increased during that time, with state and local resources reporting 206 wildfires that burned more than 4,000 acres.
Triple-digit temperatures will dry wildland vegetation and with increased wind speed those fires can be difficult to control.
“We are entering our late summer fire season when we normally expect an increase in wildfire activity,” said Brad Smith, head of the Forest Service Predictive Services Department. “The hot and dry conditions, as well as the presence of underlying drought west of Interstate 35, raises concerns of significant wildfire activity. These wildfires will be very resistant to control and require more time and more firefighters to extinguish.”
Nine out of 10 wildfires in Texas are human-caused. Exercise extreme caution when working outdoors with heavy equipment.
Taking simple steps to maintain your property could save it during a wildfire. For more information on how to create defensible space around your home, visit https://tfsweb.tamu.edu/ProtectYourHome/.
Residents should pay attention to county burn bans and avoid all outdoor burning until conditions improve. Burn ban information can be found by contacting local fire departments or by visiting https://tfsweb.tamu.edu/TexasBurnBans/.
