County burn ban rescinded; Johnson included in disaster counties
May 4—The Johnson County Commissioners Court rescinded their Feb. 14 enacted burn ban on Tuesday.
The ban, which affects unincorporated areas of the county, was scheduled to expire May 15 unless extended by commissioners.
County Judge Roger Harmon cited improving conditions and requests from residents in the court's decision to lift the ban.
"Thanks to the recent moisture we've had, the fact that we're starting to green up now and we're scheduled to get more rain tomorrow or tomorrow night, this seemed like a good time to go ahead and rescind that," Harmon said. "Plus myself and all the commissioners have been getting a lot of calls recently from people needing to burn."
With hotter temperatures on the way, Harmon said commissioners will continue to monitor the situation and reenact the ban if necessary.
"Everything is bright green and good conditions right now," Harmon said. "But it's supposed to start drying out after Thursday so we always watch those conditions carefully and keep track of the number of fire calls related to grass fires. So, it's lifted for now but we'll put it back on if we need to.
Help available for farmers and ranchers
Commissioner Larry Woolley said he, like other commissioners, has received numerous calls from residents in recent weeks requesting a lifting of the ban.
"We're finally in the advanced stage of spring green up, which makes a difference, makes it harder for fires to get started," Woolley said. "The drought index levels have changed a bit because of the rain as well."
As for previous drought conditions, Woolley said help is available for farmers and ranchers within the county.
The United States Department of Agriculture named 174 Texas counties, including Johnson County, as disaster areas.
The designation allows the Farm Service Agency to extend emergency credit to producers recovering from natural disasters through emergency loans, according to the Texas Farm Bureau's website.
"The emergency loans can be used to meet various recovery needs, including the replacement of essential items such as equipment or livestock, reorganization of a farming operation or the refinance of certain debts," according to the website. "FSA will review the loans based on the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability."
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, Johnson County and the other counties designated suffered from "drought intensity" during the growing season.
Farmers and ranchers in the disaster areas have until Dec. 8 to apply for emergency loans.
Information is available at farmers.gov or by contacting the Farm Service Agency office in Cleburne at 817-645-5411 ext. 2.
