Harris County Enacts Burn Ban

[Yankeegirl]

Harris County Enacts Burn Ban
Ban Prohibits Burning Trash, Could Ban Sale, Use Of Fireworks

POSTED: 1:00 pm CDT June 21, 2005

HOUSTON -- County commissioners and officials with the Harris County Fire Marshal's Office issued a burn ban Tuesday because of drought conditions in southeast Texas, Local 2 reported.

The Harris County Fire Marshal believed the order was necessary because of the potential for fire hazards around the Fourth of July.

A burn ban prohibits people from burning their household trash outside in unincorporated areas of Harris County. The order could also ban the sale or use of fireworks.

However, fires used for cooking and barbecuing would still be allowed.

Fireworks are already banned within the Houston city limits, and other cities within Harris County.

The ban immediately went into effect Tuesday and lasts for 90 days.

The average Keetch-Byram Drought Index was 519 on Tuesday.

KBDI is a continuous reference scale for estimating the dryness of the soil and duff layers.

A reading between 600 and 800 is often associated with more severe drought with increased wildfire occurrence.

[JenBayles]

Not at all surprising, and it won't hurt my feelings to not have to pick up bottle rockets out of my pool this year.