Grayson County officials have received more than 400 calls about controlled burns in the days since the county lifted its burn ban, the Herald Democrat reported Tuesday.
The ban, put in place during a hot, dry summer, came off in early October after a stretch of rain, KXII reported Oct. 4. With burning allowed again, the county's rules for outdoor fires are back in force.
What the county requires
The county fire marshal's office lists these requirements for an outdoor burn:
- Burning is allowed only in unincorporated parts of the county. People inside Sherman or another city should check that city's rules.
- On the day of the burn, phone the county's communications center (903-813-4411) to register the address and confirm burning is allowed that day. The center is staffed around the clock.
- The person responsible must stay with the fire the entire time and is liable for any damage.
- Fires may be lit no earlier than an hour past sunrise and must be out by one hour before sunset. Nighttime burning is not allowed, though bonfires, campfires and chimenea-style fires are excluded from that limit.
- Smoke must not drift toward a neighbor's home or a road, and the fire must sit downwind of, and keep a 300-foot buffer from, nearby buildings with sensitive receptors on adjacent property.
- Only brush, limbs, grass clippings, leaves or kitchen trash produced on the same property may be burned. Hauled-in material, construction debris, furniture, heavy oils and chemical waste are prohibited.
- No burning when sustained winds or gusts reach, or are forecast to reach, 23 mph.
A fire chief's advice
Collinsville Fire Chief Damon Stewart told KXII that rain does little for grass that is already dead and brown, which dries out again quickly, and that muddy fields can slow firefighters trying to reach a grass fire.
