Dateline: January 5, 2006

County bans outdoor fires, declares disaster

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

A burn ban is in effect in Donley County, and state and local officials are urging extreme caution as dry conditions persist.

Using executive authority, Donley County Judge Jack Hall instituted an emergency burn ban last Friday as the Texas Forest Service warned that the New Year’s weekend would present the “worst possible wildfire scenario.”

Meeting in emergency session on Tuesday, the county commissioners’ court formally enacted a ban on all outdoor burning and fireworks. Hall’s order would have expired after seven days, but the commissioners’ action will remain in effect until the court votes to lift the ban.

Commissioners said, given the severity of conditions, they intend the ban to include home barbecue grills.

The Donley County Sheriff’s Department has warned the burn ban will be strictly enforced.

Commissioners also issued a declaration of a disaster in the county following the New Year’s wildfire.

The forest service says maximum public cooperation is absolutely necessary to avoid a repeat of wildfire losses such as have occurred locally and other parts of Texas as well as in Oklahoma and New Mexico.

Be extremely cautious about any outdoor activities that might cause sparks or fires.  When in your vehicle, crush smoking materials in your vehicle ashtray and make sure they are out. Avoid using welding or grinding equipment near dead grass and weeds.

Protect your property by clearing brush and grass away from your home and buildings. Postpone outdoor burning as long as brush and foliage remain dry. Avoid driving or parking equipment in tall, dry grass and weeds that could be ignited by hot pollution control equipment.

If you are told to evacuate – leave the area immediately. Choose a route that leads away from the fire – and be alert to changes in the speed and direction of fire and smoke. Keep your vehicle parked facing the direction of escape. If you have time to get prepared, shut gas off at the meter and turn off propane tanks. Wet down your roof and shrubbery within 15 feet of your residence. 

Although only one structure was lost and no one was injured in the Donley County wildfire, other parts of the state have not been as fortunate. Firefighters and citizens have already been injured or killed, and homes and vehicles in addition natural resources have also been lost to wildfires in other parts of the state.

“Texas is in worse shape now from a fire-wise standpoint than it was back in February 1996 when a major wildfire siege erupted in Texas,” said Tom Spencer, state fire risk assessment coordinator with the Texas Forest Service.