PORT ARTHUR, Texas — Nearly three weeks after lifting a burn ban for the entire county, Jefferson County officials have issued a burn ban for some southern parts of the county.
County Judge Jeff Branick issued the order Wednesday morning blaming continued drought conditions in county marshes and ongoing fires "that have taxed the resources of firefighting personnel and departments."
The new ban includes all areas of the county south of Texas Highway 73 to the Gulf of Mexico bordered by the Jefferson/Chambers County line on the west to the Taylor Bayou Bridge on Texas 73 and following Taylor Bayou south to the Intracoastal Waterway and further south along the Sabine-Neches waterway to the Gulf according to the ban.
The are under a burn ban is mainly marshland.
The ban comes a day after multiple fire departments began to fight a stubborn marsh fire in the area that has been burning for more than two weeks.
That fire caused lots of problems over several days late last week and on the weekend when the weather changed and kept the smoke hanging around low to the ground throughout the mornings.
Previously the entire county spent 10 weeks under a burn ban from July 28 through October 5 due to drought conditions in Southeast Texas.
It is illegal to leave any fire unattended in the state of Texas.
In Texas, local governments are empowered to act on the behalf of those they serve according to the Texas Forest Service.
When drought conditions exist, a burn ban can be put in place by a county judge or county commissioners court prohibiting or restricting outdoor burning for public safety.
The decision to institute a burn ban is solely up to the discretion of the county judge or county commissioners court of each of the 254 counties in Texas.
The Texas A&M Forest Service works to help people understand the "why" behind a burn ban.
“When we respond to a wild-fire it's often to debris burning, and they will say, ‘I didn't know there was a burn ban,’” explains Texas A&M Forest Service public information officer, Ryan Burns.
“A part of our mission is to raise awareness for that, then have folks be aware of the weather we have been having,” Burns adds.
Violating a county burn ban is a class C misdemeanor. Anyone violating a burn ban, if convicted, could face a fine and community service according to section 352.081, subsection G, of the Texas Local Government Code.
Those who get caught burning during a burn ban could be fined up to $500.
Section 352.081 of the Texas Local Government Code allows county commissioner courts to prohibit or restrict outdoor burning in all or part of the unincorporated areas of a county if the Texas Forest Service determines that drought conditions exist in a county or if the commissioner’s court finds that circumstances are present in all the unincorporated areas of the county to create a public safety hazard that could be exacerbated by outdoor burning.
County burn bans generally do not apply to outdoor burning activities related to…
Firefighter training
Public utility, natural gas pipeline, or mining operations
Planting or harvesting of agriculture crops
Burning conducted by a certified and insured prescribed certified “burn manager”
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This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.