Nacogdoches County Is Under an Outdoor Burn Ban for 90 Days

Friday evening, the Nacogdoches County Commissioner's Court in a unanimous vote decided to place the county under an outdoor burn ban for 90 days.  The court does have the option of terminating the ban before the end of the 90 day period if the dry conditions in the county improve.

Over 150 of Texas' 254 counties are under an outdoor burn ban.  However, most counties in East Texas are not covered by burn bans.  According to this map which was released before the Nacogdoches County burn ban went into effect, Walker, Liberty, and Rains Counties are the only other East Texas counties under a burn ban.

Three storm systems over the past three weeks have dumped some rainfall in the Pineywoods, as well as severe weather.  Even with that rain, recent high winds combined with low relative humidities have caused the National Weather Service to recently issue Red Flag Warnings as well as a Fire Weather Watch.  It seems that it was the opinion of the Nacogdoches Commissioners to be proactive and help prevent any wildfires before they occur.

There are a few exceptions to the Nacogdoches County outdoor burn ban, such as:

• Firefighter training
• Public utility, natural gas pipeline, or mining operations
• Planting or harvesting of agricultural crops
• Burns that are conducted by a prescribed burn manager

The forecast for this weekend across Nacogdoches County and East Texas continues to show winds gusting to nearly 30 mph.  So, any outdoor burning across any of the Pineywoods is discouraged.  We will have a chance of more stormy weather by Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.