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At the regular weekly meeting of the Washington County Board of Commissioners, one of the "hot" topics was whether to continue the burn ban.

Commissioner Mitch Antle noted there was no extension request from the Emergency Management Department and asked for clarification from Kary Cox, Director of the department.

Cox explained that the fire chiefs, as of this past Friday (November 4), had agreed the burn ban should end if at least 1 inch of rain fell over the weekend. According to MESONET, the required amount was reached...barely...and therefore, acting on their behalf, Cox called for the burn ban to end at this time. However, Cox cautioned that ending the burn ban does not mean the county is out of a drought period and with gusting winds expected all this week, people should be careful on any fires they undertake because there is still the possibility for a wildfire to occur.

After Cox's explanation, the commissioners approved the ending of the ban for now.