Outdoor burning is allowed again in Brazos County now that the countywide burn ban has been called off by County Judge Duane Peters, the Bryan-College Station Eagle reported. County officials announced the change Monday, according to WTAW.
The ban had been in place since Sept. 1, when weeks of heat and little rain had dried out the area, the Eagle reported. Over the past week, parts of the county picked up more than 3 inches of rain, according to the newspaper.
Neighboring counties
Madison and Washington counties have also dropped their bans, WTAW and KBTX reported, and KBTX said Houston and Trinity counties did the same. Leon County had ended its ban earlier, according to WTAW.
Not every neighbor has followed. The Texas A&M Forest Service's statewide burn ban map dated Oct. 5 no longer listed Brazos, Madison or Washington counties, but Burleson, Grimes and Robertson counties were still among the 168 Texas counties it showed under a ban. KBTX said more county officials were scheduled to meet early this week and that additional bans could be lifted.
Conditions can change quickly
KBTX's forecast calls for fire danger to stay fairly low this week, even with drier air moving in, with a chance of isolated afternoon showers and storms but no widespread rain expected. The station noted that grass and brush across the Brazos Valley can turn dry again within a few days and urged residents to burn carefully.
