El Paso County Enacts Burn Ban Due To Potential For Fires

The brush is brittle, thirsty and ready to catch fire. Add mother nature’s wind and volunteer fire departments – who’s crews aren’t readily available during the day – and you have a big problem.

As crews continue battling that massive fire near Fort Davis, officials here say we are ripe for a dangerous blaze if we aren’t careful.

“The fire conditions are very extreme out there, we’re high up in the drought index, which means conditions are ripe for any type of fire,” El Paso Fire Dept. Spokesman John Concha said.

His point was illustrated last Friday when a fire left a Montana Vista family without a home. Crews had to work against harsh drought conditions.

“Everything is against us,” El Paso County Sheriff’s spokesman Jesse Tovar said.

On Monday, El Paso County Commissioners Court enacted a 90 day burn ban in the County. All of this means it’ll cost you $500 if a sheriff’s deputy catches you burning your garbage, a bonfire or anything else fire-related.

“The ban is necessary to combat dangerous fire conditions stemming from high winds and a lack of precipitation leading to dry vegetation in much of the State. Although El Paso County has not experienced any fires, we are taking the proper steps to prevent any accidents that could be catastrophic to our community. My heart goes out to those families who have suffered a loss and to those working tirelessly to contain the fires,” stated County Judge Veronica Escobar.

ABC-7’s Chief Meteoroligist “Doppler” Dave Speelman said that even though March and April are generally the dryest months, we’re even more unusually parched this year.

“It’s been 74 consecutive days that we haven’t had any precipitation,” Speelman said. “We get about a quarter of an inch in March and a quarter of an inch in April, and we have picked up zero for March and April, so it’s been since February 2 since we saw any rain. So, it’s just been so terribly dry around town.”

“Our concern is with the county,” Concha said. “The county fire departments that are out there that are having to deal with these types of fires, and the potential (for more fires).”