WAXAHACHIE, Tx. — Ellis County commissioners unanimously enacted Northeast Texas' first county-wide burn ban of the season Friday, with support from local fire departments and farmers.
"Right now, we're just trying to be as careful as we can," said Ellis County farmer Stephen Janek.
Conditions are prime for a brush fire, said Janek. He would know. When he's not farming in Ellis County, Janek also serves as a Dallas firefighter. But recently, a fire hit his own back yard.
"One little rock set a wheat field on fire that [someone] was trying to bale for us," Janek.
The county typically bans controlled burns when the Keetch-Byram Drought Index reaches 500 out of 800. It's now at 560 and rising. You can track the drought index on the Texas Weather Connection website.
It's a big change from the spring, when heavy rains flooded parts of Ellis County. Janek described the area as "one big mud hole" during one of the rainiest months North Texas has seen.
But those rains added fuel for potential fires, said Ellis County Commissioner Paul Perry, Precinct 3.
"All this growth that we've had from the rain, conversely and ironically, will cause even more danger of a bad fire," said Perry.
Just in the last two weeks, Ellis County has had 18 grass fires. Drivers can spot burn marks in stretches of the grass along Interstate 35.
Back at Janek's farm, triple-digit heat is just a sign of the season.
"We do not use irrigation of any kind," said Janek. "We just rely on the good Lord to bring rain when He sees necessary."
LINK: Texas burn ban map
The Ellis County Sheriff's Office will enforce the burn ban, since the county is currently without a fire marshal. Former fire marshal Joe Stewart recently resigned. Commissioners discussed that issue in a closed executive session Friday, but did not vote on whether to place a new fire marshal in office.
Firefighters from several local fire departments asked the commissioners to put a strong fire marshal in place for inspections and investigations.
Ellis County isn't the only location talking about a burn ban. Kaufman County is set to vote on a burn ban August 10. The city of Palestine also enacted a burn ban Friday.
In Dallas County, Fire Marshal Robert De Los Santos is assessing the situation. If there's no rain in the next few weeks, it's likely the county will issue a burn ban, said De Los Santos.
