Travis County Commissioners Court
Tuesday, April 5, 2011 (Agenda)
Item 2
Item number 2, consider and take appropriate action on an order concerning outdoor burning in the unincorporated areas of Travis County.
>> good morning, judge, herschel lee.
the current burn ban will expire tomorrow, April 6th.
our drought index is 549.
there are 179 counties in Texas with burn bans.
and watching the weather forecast last night, there is approximately a 10-inch rain deficit over the last six months.
I spoke with several of the fire chiefs this morning by phone.
they are reporting that there are still going to grass fires, even with the amount of green-up that we've had.
and their recommendation along with mine is to put a new burn ban in place.
the new ban, if approved by the court, would not expire until may the 4th.
so my recommendation is for a new burn ban for Travis County.
>> now, for those wondering about the rain that we got yesterday and what effect it has on the -- on a burn ban, what do we say?
>> the measurable rain over the average in Travis County was less than .02.
there were some areas that got up to a quarter of an inch of rain.
but by noon yesterday, there was a 30-mile-an-hour northwest wind with a 15% relative humidity.
so that in effect erased what effect that rain had yesterday morning in one hour.
so the net effect yesterday with the wind and the rain was that the drought index increased.
>> move that we adopt another order prohibiting outdoor burning as recommended by our fire marshal.
>> second.
>> any discussion on the motion?
all in favor?
that passes by unanimous vote.
thank you very much.
I guess we'll continue to carry this item, well --
>> yes, sir.
I'll be back next Tuesday.
>> doesn't hurt to have it on if we postpone it.
we know you enjoy coming down and visiting with us, but if we could start touching base on Monday if the situation really is not even close to being lifted we might as well save you a trip for the next three weeks.
this order will be in place for a month?
>> that's correct.
the seven-day forecast includes a slight chance of rain next Sunday afternoon.
if there is anything that's going to change, I'll be glad to send you a note either Friday afternoon or Monday morning about that.
and as soon as we get that big rain, I'm going to bring every one of you an umbrella so we can celebrate being out of this burn ban.
>> yes indeed.
>> thank you.
did we vote on that?
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