By Russell Slaton
russell@themonitor.net

ATHENS–Henderson County Judge Wade McKinney signed an Oct. 5 order that ended a burn ban that was enacted Aug. 11 “due to Dangerous Fire conditions in Henderson County” and was extended by the Commissioners’ Court Sept. 29.
The order states McKinney issued an emergency declaration due to the drought, which the full court ratified Sept. 29. The declaration placed restrictions on outdoor burning and outdoor welding activities, the order says, but rainfall over the first weekend in October was “widespread throughout Henderson County, lowering the most recent Keetch-Byrum Drought Index average to 319,” the order says. The drought index measures soil moisture and is a factor considered when enacting burn bans, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.
McKinney’s Oct. 5 order says Henderson County Fire Marshal Mitch Pate assessed the fire risk and recommended lifting the ban, as well as the added restrictions of the Emergency Declaration for Drought. However, Henderson County says in the order that the county remains under long-term drought conditions and that it remains under a Disaster Declaration for Drought.
The Texas Local Government Code notes that a burn ban order expires on the date a determination is made that drought conditions no longer exist, or when a determination is made by the commissioners’ court, or the county judge or fire marshal if designated for that purpose by the commissioners’ court, that the circumstances identified no longer exist.
As of the morning of Oct. 6, the previous weekend’s rainfall had helped Cedar Creek Lake rise about 7 inches, moving to 316.58 feet above sea level from a low of 315.81 feet. The full mark for Cedar Creek Lake is 322 feet.