Well, the rain East Texas received earlier this year wasn't enough to hold off burn bans for some East Texas counties. July ended up being one of the driest on record and with temperatures staying in the upper 90s to low 100s the past couple of weeks, the vegetation throughout East Texas is drying up and turning brown, therefore increasing the threat of wildfires.

The first East Texas county to enact a county wide burn ban was Houston County followed by Anderson County late last week. Marion County issued a burn ban today (Monday, Aug. 3).

The Smith County Fire Marshal's office is asking residents of the county to be very aware of any fires they are burning so they don't become out of control and ask to hold off on any burning if possible.

Additional counties have quickly enacted burn bans for their counties, including:

  • Harrison
  • Cherokee
  • Anderson
  • Tyler (county)
  • Panola
  • Sabine
  • Cass
  • Gregg
  • Newton
  • Jasper
  • Angelina
  • Smith

If we don't receive substantial rainfall, more counties will be added to the burn ban list. Judging from the forecast for the next seven days, it's a real possibility because there is no mention of rain in KLTV's extended forecast and temps are going to be above 100 degrees again by late week.

If you plan on doing any burning outdoors, please be aware of your surroundings, weather/wind conditions and be sure you have an adequate supply of fire suppressant if it happens to get out of control.

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