Comal County’s Fire Marshal said the Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) reached 722 today, 222 points higher than the 500-point threshold needed to trigger a burn ban.
To make the situation even worse, the Canyon Lake area is entering the “low humidity and higher wind speed time of year,” Kory Klabunde said.
“Fires will grow very rapidly in this type of situation,” he said. “…Please be safe and hopefully we will get some much-needed rain soon. We will need several inches of rain, countywide, to help our situation. These small rain showers that only hit certain areas do not get the burn ban off. Please be patient.”
Klabunde reminds residents that fire pits, burn barrels, chimineas and all other outdoor fires are prohibited during burn bans.
Only barbeque pits that are off the ground and have a lid to contain sparks and flames can be used for cooking purposes only.
The KBDI index ranges from 0 to 800, where a drought index of 0 represents no moisture depletion and an index of 800 represents absolutely dry conditions.
Burn bans are issued by Comal County Judge Sherman Krause at Commissioners Court meetings and remain in effect for 90 days.
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