Burn Ban Begins at Noon Today

A burn ban was put into effect by the The Tom Green County commissioners this morning in Commissioners’ Court. The ban will begin at noon today.

 “The fuel is very heavy out in the county,” Emergency Management Coordinator Steve Mild said. “One hundred plus days with wind have dried it out. The soil is even starting to dry out. We’ve reached the point that we do need a burn ban.”

When Mild proposed a burn ban, Commissioner Bill Ford moved to bring the burn ban into effect starting today at noon, saying “the sooner, the better.”

“We’ve averaged one fire a day for the last three weeks here in Tom Green County,” Mild said. “Surrounding counties are having more than that and they’re getting bigger. So we need to go ahead and get the burn ban in effect in an effort to curb the potential for fires here.”

Ford’s motion to begin the burn ban at 12 p.m. was passed unanimously by the court.

“Let’s pray for rain,” Commissioner Ralph Hoelscher said.

Last week in Commissioners’ Court, the county agreed to wait a week before implementing a burn ban. Check out San Angelo LIVE!’s report on the agreement for more information.