HUNT COUNTY - Hunt County officials have agreed to lift the current burn ban, originally enacted in mid July, effective immediately.
According to Richard Hill, director of the Hunt County Office of Homeland Security, the county is at the 500 to 600 category on the Keetch Byrum Drought Index. The highest group level is 700 to 800.
The surrounding counties of Delta, Collins, Hopkins, Kaufman, Rains and Van Zandt have already lifted their burn bans.
In a press release issued Wednesday, Hill said that outdoor burning is acceptable for domestic waste for a private residence in unincorporated Hunt County, can only be done during the daylight, be attended by a person at all times and done only when wind speeds are predicted to be between six and 23 mph. He urges citizens have a means to extinguish the fire if need be and don’t start a fire so large that it is impossible to control.
Items that can be burned includes kitchen garbage, untreated lumber, cardboard boxes, packaging (including plastics and rubber), clothing, grass, leaves, and branch trimmings. Examples of wastes not considered domestic waste that cannot be burned include such things as tires, non-wood construction debris, furniture, carpet, electrical wire, and appliances;
It is acceptable for the on-site burning of trees, brush, grass, leaves, branch trimmings, or other plant growth by the owner of the property or any other person authorized by the owner, and when the material is generated only from that property.
Questions can be directed to his office at 903-408-4246.