Countywide burn ban rescinded

By Chris Edwards
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TYLER COUNTY – Tyler County Emergency Management officials want the public to know that the burn ban has been rescinded, as of Tuesday.

The ban, which was issued on July 25, was active for 64 days, as the county was under critical fire weather conditions, and weathered a major wildfire in August, which began in Jasper County and spread across the county line.

On Tuesday, Tyler County Judge Milton Powers issued the order to lift the ban.

Powers encouraged all county residents to exercise caution and take all necessary precautions when burning.

The lift of the ban comes on the heels of “beneficial rainfall,” in the wording of the judge’s order, across the county on Sunday and Monday.

“After assessing all information from the necessary sources the burn ban has been rescinded. Therefore at this time you are allowed to burn,” Powers stated on the Emergency Management’s Facebook page.

Powers implored everyone, however, to be mindful that if circumstances change, the county could go back to a burn ban in a matter of days.

In the state of Texas, local governments are empowered to take action on the behalf of their constituents, and when drought conditions exist, burn bands can be put in place by a county judge or a county commissioners’ court that prohibit, or restrict, outdoor burning in the name of public safety.