Burnet County bans some fireworks due to fire risk

BURNET COUNTY, Texas - Burnet County is banning certain fireworks this holiday season. This comes as commissioners raise concerns about fire risk.

Skyrockets with sticks and missiles with fins are temporarily banned in Burnet County.

"The intent of this is not to say you can’t pop a firecracker, it’s saying you can’t send off something that could still be smoldering when it hits the ground in your or somebody else’s pasture and catch something on fire," Burnet County Judge James Oakley said.

Burnet County Commissioners are prohibiting the sale or use of restricted fireworks and said the drought and extremely dry conditions enhance the normal danger of fire.

The U.S. Drought Monitor shows about 60% of Burnet County is under moderate drought and about 40% is under severe drought.

"For wildfire, usually when we think of what drought means, it means that there's an increase in alive and dead fuel that can burn. Basically, however, drought doesn't necessarily imply that a fire can happen," Texas A&M Forest Service Fire Analyst Walter Flocke said.

Flocke said humidity, wind, and rain levels also come into play and the fire risk can change every day.

"It's that time of year when we're starting to watch for those cold fronts coming in, out of the panhandle, and just increase in the winds," Flocke said.

Llano, Blanco, Comal, and Burnet Counties are all under a burn ban.

"Just because you're not in a burn ban doesn't mean you should necessarily burn," Flocke said.

As for the potential of these bans being lifted, Flocke said, "we will still hopefully have some rainy days this winter which will help lower the fire potential in the long run."

The temporary firework order expires on January 2, or when the Texas Forest Service determines drought conditions no longer exist in Burnet County. 

Violators of this order could face a Class C Misdemeanor.