Gregg County makes ban on outdoor burning official

A burn ban was officially ordered for the county by Gregg County Commissions Wednesday.

At 10 a.m. yesterday, County Judge Bill Stoudt signed an order banning open fires. The ban will stay in place at least until commissioners meet on Jan. 9.

“We’ll review the situation again and decide whether to continue or lift the ban,” Stoudt said.

Stoudt said the order also declare the area to be in a state of drought and the threat of disaster from wild fire great.

A fine of up to $500 can be assessed to a person who burns any combustible material outside of an enclosure that contains all flames and/or sparks or ordered by others to do so.

The order is enforceable by any commissioned officer in all unincorporated areas of Gregg County.

“We hope that by curtailing outdoor burning we can minimize the number of fires and damage until the drought ends,” Stoudt said.

Although a burn ban is in place in the county for 90 days, there’s no ban on the use of fireworks.

Rusk County has banned outdoor burning and aerial fireworks.