With smaller wildfires claiming more and more acreage around Kendall County and larger-scale fires encroaching on the county line, Kendall County Judge Darrell Lux is looking to Gov. Greg Abbott for approval to issue a disaster declaration in the county.
Over the past weekend, a fire ignited at BSA-Camp Bullis that is estimated to have burned roughly 3,000 acres and was about 70 percent contained as of about noon Monday, according to published reports.
Further, there have been a handful of smaller fires ignited in Kendall County over the past several weeks, most of which were reported as roadside fires that could’ve been started by a host of sources, according to local fire officials.
Abbott issued a disaster declaration for Medina County late last month in response to the wildfire that burned in that area, scorching more than 1,000 acres of land. At about the same time, a fire at the Kendall-Kerr County line was sparked by a man mowing his grass and burned hundreds of acres in both counties.
“Jeff (Fincke) and I have spoke pertaining to this for about a week or so and thought it was best to stick it on the agenda today,” Lux said of the declaration on Monday. “Because we have X amount of time after I put the disaster declaration on as the position of county judge before commissioners court have to quote-unquote ratify it. We also have to send it up to Austin, and they have how many hours – 72 hours to approve the declaration or not. I suspect there won’t be any problem getting that approved, especially based on the comments he had down at the border this last week.”
Such a declaration, if ratified by commissioners and approved by the governor, would require a permit for anyone conducting “hot work.” However, at a meeting late last month, when the conversation first sparked, the commissioners considered waiving any fees associated with the permitting process as they have done in previous years.
Hot work is defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as any work involving “electric or gas welding, cutting, brazing or similar flame or spark-producing operations.”
During the commissioners’ meeting Monday, Fincke said the permitting process will involve county staff inspecting any potential hot work or burning area to ensure requirements are met to reduce the risk of fire.
Fincke said under a disaster declaration, any outdoor fires at all would be banned, including outdoor cooking and burning in barrels, unless the burning sites were inspected, permitted and met certain requirements set forth by the commissioners and county staff. Fincke said in previous years, the county issued about 50 to 60 permits for residents who had burn barrels to ensure there was no grass around it that could lead to a wildfire.
“If I may, I think we did this in 2011,” Lux said. “I understand the importance of a certain amount of agricultural welding and things of that nature for livelihoods. But, with this disaster declaration, while it does put an excess burden on people who are doing that, it’s the right thing to do. I’m not sure I have those same feelings for someone that wants to burn (in) a burn barrel. But if y’all (county staff) inspect them, I think that’s y’all’s job and responsibly to make those approvals, so I’m good with that, too.”
Further, the commissioners will be able to not only ban the use of fireworks in Kendall County under such a declaration, but Fincke said the commissioners actually could ban the sale of fireworks in the county.
Kendall County Parks Director Daniel Vetter suggested the commissioners pre-emptively remove or lock the publicly accessible fire pits or grills at parks in the county, which are mainly at Joshua Springs Park, but the suggestion initially received some pushback from Lux. However, Fincke said the commissioner should not only move forward on doing this but also place signs preventing park guests from bringing their own grills or heating equipment.
Lux suggested there be noticeable signs put up at the county park indicating there will be no cooking on site.
“I think it should be basically no incendiary devices or cooking period,” Fincke said. When Lux asked how many “what’s that means” the county would get, Fincke said, “I’m not sure you should light a cigarette out there.”
When a couple of commissioners asked for clarification on what would be allowed and wouldn’t be, Fincke said county staff and the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office have used common sense in the past and treated each reported incident case by case.
“What we’ve tried to do in the past, the sheriff and I, and I think we’re pretty good about it, is using some kind of reasonable deal,” Fincke said. “And the sheriff’s department is good about calling me if they have some questions. If they were to call and say, ‘Hey, the guys out here on a 200-square-foot patio, and he’s got his barbeque pit in the middle of it,’ that’s probably acceptable. But I’m telling you, we’ve gone to some, and it’s like ‘No way! No! No! You’re going to burn half the country down.’”
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