Low humidity, dry air, lack of rain increase fire danger in the Brazos Valley

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) -While the cooler mornings the Brazos Valley is seeing are great, they also bring high fire danger in the afternoons.

The lower humidity combined with cooler temperatures and gusty winds that are expected due to Hurricane Ian could increase the risk of wildfires in the Brazos Valley this week.

Currently, only Washington and Walker counties are under a burn ban according to the Texas A&M Forest Service burn ban web map.

Fire experts say while drought conditions are no longer in the severe or extreme range now is not the time to drop your guard or get complacent when it comes to fire dangers and safety.

“The big story this week is the low humidity, that’s what’s going to be driving a lot of the fire dangers,” said Texas A&M Forest Service Fire Analyst Logan Scherschel. “We had the big long-duration rain event that came through the state kind of the last week of august but we’ve not had any rain since then.”

“When the humidity is really low and the air is really dry, fuels are losing moisture trying to reach that equilibrium with the surrounding air. When the humidity is really high, fuels are taking in that moisture out of the air,” said Scherschel.

Brazos County Deputy Emergency Management Coordinator Jason Ware says they’ve seen a slight uptick in fires across the county over the last few days.

“We do have some concerns as far as wildfires are concerned,” said Ware. “We’ve had a couple of wildland fires over the last couple of days. One on the east side of the county that resulted in about five acres that burned and that was a powerline issue but that just shows you that conditions are dry and you need to be very very careful if you’re doing any sort of outdoor burning.”

Ware says while there is no burn ban currently in effect for Brazos County or surrounding counties you should think twice before starting a controlled burn.

“When those conditions exist it’s very easy for a control burn to get out of hand and spread quickly and your controlled burn then becomes noncontrolled,” said Ware.

Ware says you should always keep a hose or other source of water nearby when doing a controlled burn and familiarize yourself with your county’s burning guidelines. We’ve placed a copy of Brazos County’s controlled burn guidelines below.

Brazos County Controlled Burning Guidelines
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) regulates outdoor burning in Texas.
The following are guidelines or outdoor burning, as taken from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality guidebook to Outdoor Burning:
1. PLEASE notify Brazos County 911 Dispatch in advance of your burn by calling (979)-361-3888. You must call each day that you burn. This number is not for reporting emergencies; to report a fire or other emergency, dial 911. Likewise, 911 is not to be used for reporting controlled burn information.
2. You may burn brush, leaves, untreated lumber, or any other natural product on the land from which it was cleared. You MAY NOT burn insulation (electrical or otherwise), treated or painted lumber, plastics, sheetrock, shingles, carpet, rubber products, paints, oils, or any material brought onto the site from elsewhere, including brush cleared from another location. You may burn household garbage in a burn barrel in areas where a rural trash pickup service is not available.
3. You may not burn on windy days or during dry periods. The wind speed MUST be greater than 6 miles per hour, but no more than 22 miles per hour. During dry periods, the Brazos County Commissioner’s Court may enact a “burn ban” in which NO OUTDOOR BURNING IS PERMITTED, including burn barrels. Local radio and TV stations will broadcast information on burn bans, and you may call Brazos County 911 Dispatch (non-emergency number) to request the wind speed and to find out if a burn ban is in effect.
4. Burning hours are from one hour AFTER sunrise to one hour BEFORE sunset. No additional material may be added to the fire that would cause burning to extend past this time.
5. Campfires, cooking fires, and bonfires are allowed to burn after dark, as long as the materials are those listed above as legal to burn. During periods of a burn ban, these types of fires may not be burned. Other than burn bans, and legal materials listed above, the general rules on allowable outdoor burning do not apply to fires covered by this exception.
6. Your fire must be downwind of or at least three hundred feet from the nearest property with any type of structure. The immediate area of the fire should be clear of brush, overhanging limbs, and other combustibles. You should have a shovel, rake, and a hose connected to a reliable water source nearby to prevent the spread of the fire. The fire must be tended at all times until it is completely out.
7. If wind carries smoke across any public roadway, you must post someone on the road to flag traffic in accordance with Texas Department of Public Safety regulations.
Brazos County Controlled Burning Guidelines

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