CENTERVILLE, Texas — Leon County Emergency Management issued a burn ban Monday, Feb. 26, 2024.
- County Judge Byron Ryder and the county's Emergency Management cited high winds, temperatures, and fires from several neighboring counties as a reason behind the burn ban.
- Local lumber yard Keechi Creek Wood is among those in the area who burn to minimize waste wood build up.
- Centerville VFD, the Office of Emergency Management, and Leon County Judge Ryder will continue monitoring conditions and lift the ban at the appropriate time.
BROADCAST SCRIPT:
Leon County is acting out of an abundance of caution after several fires were reported over the weekend and the arrival of extreme winds in our area. This is putting a halt on any burns at the Keechi Creek Wood in Centerville, posing a problem for owner Detre Dominey.
“It gets to be a hassle because we get the waste wood built up, and we can’t move it and we can’t do anything with it and we have to work around it," Dominey said. “This is where the wood chips come out of the grinder, there’s a lot of stuff that’s pretty big and won’t fit in our grinder that we have to burn, and it adds up if you can’t keep it under control."
But a volunteer Centerville firefighter told 15 ABC’s Chris Talley it’s only temporary.
“With the increased fire hazard we went ahead and put it on we are not planning to have it on throughout all of fire season, just these next few weeks to get through the winds as this cold front passes. That is critical in active fires," volunteer firefighter Colton Adams said.
While Dominey’s pile is just beginning to gather, he hopes conditions improve before it gets out of hand.
“That little pile right there is about a day and a half of stuff, you multiple that by 10 days or 30 days – you got a big pile of wood,” Dominey said.
