BOERNE — The Kendall County Commissioners Court reinstated a burn ban Tuesday after several fires deemed preventable ignited around the county.
County Judge Darrell Lux polled seven area fire chiefs Monday, and all of them asked that the no-flame order be issued.
Emergency Management Coordinator Jeff Fincke said the blazes that broke out across the region the last few days could have been avoided.
“We’ve had two or three fires in the past couple (of) days that if we’d had a burn ban on, we may not have had those fires,” Fincke said, including conflagrations in Comfort and Sisterdale.
On Saturday, several fires were reported along Interstate 10 West between Comfort and Boerne, prompting a manhunt of sorts.
First responders attempted to locate someone traveling along the highway, possibly sparking small fires while traveling, but the survey up to the Kerr County line yielded no results.
The search started after a 30-foot by 20-foot fire broke out on a hill on the jurisdictional line between the Boerne and Comfort fire departments, sparking a multi-agency effort that had the flames extinguished by 7:20 a.m.
Then, a separate blaze was spotted closer to Boerne, as well as a couple of different fires along the interstate near different mile markers.
While no burning is allowed in the Boerne city limits regardless of the county ban status, Fire Chief Ray Hacker said the city has not been immune to the dry conditions that contribute to rapidly spreading blazes.
“We’re starting to see an increase (in fires) definitely along the interstate,” Hacker said, noting flames consumed 25 acres on Crabapple Road n Kendalia.
He added, “We’ve had no rain relief.”
The scant precipitation that sprinkled across Boerne several months ago has basically dried up, and most of the streams are not running at all.
Cibolo Creek has ceased flowing, and the marsh at The Cibolo Center for Conservation has completely dried.
“It’s extremely dry right now. That’s why the burn place is in place,” Hacker said.
While some burning is exempted from county regulations under an active burn ban, including residential trash or animal carcasses, commissioners and Fincke said the message is clear: Don’t set things afire.
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