No action taken on burn ban

Staff Writer

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During Tuesday’s Curry County Commission meeting a difference of opinion surfaced with regard to the circumstances and criteria needed to enact a county burn ban — leading to no action being taken on a resolution declaring a fire danger emergency.

County Manager Lance Pyle said he has received several requests from citizens as well as the volunteer fire chiefs in Broadview and Field to assert a burn ban — but upon review of the prescribed conditions needed to take such action, there would be no declaration.

“As you know, based on our resolution and our ordinance, in order to do that (enact a burn ban) there has to be several factors met,” Pyle said. “One, we have to be in severe drought. We pulled the U.S. Drought Monitor reports and that shows that we’re abnormally dry, but we’re not in a severe drought. Other factors include high winds and low humidity. Based on the reports we have been able to obtain, I don’t see how we can impose a burn ban based on the data out there.”

On March 15, 2011, the commission adopted Ordinance Number 2011-01 which, among other things, established provisions for declaring severe fire hazard restrictions, fire danger emergencies and authority to mitigate the same.

“We even went out on a one month outlook for the month of April and it shows the moisture in this area to be above average,” Pyle said. “We also accessed a three-month outlook that shows the same thing. Your constituents and two volunteer fire chiefs have asked for the ban, but based on the language, I just don’t see how it can be imposed.”

Ordinance Number 2011-01 defines critical fire weather as “a set of weather conditions, usually involving a combination of low relative humidity and high winds, whose effects on fire behavior make control difficult and threaten the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Curry County.”

Commission Chairman Wendell Bostwick offered a counter perspective to that of Pyle.

“Every day I watch the weather,” he said. “I’m in agriculture, so that’s one of the main things of my day. And everyday I hear about red flag warnings or burn issues in eastern New Mexico and the Texas panhandle. I’m struggling with a piece of paper and an ordinance not being able to protect our people and our county. For example, if we had three of the past 10 days in a severe red flag warning or whatever the criteria is — that it would be automatically enacted. I am in favor of enacting it whenever we have three of 10 days in red flag status. Low humidity and high winds are exactly what a red flag warning is. ”

Bostwick, who requested commission attorney Stephen Doerr provide further review, said the National Weather Service predicts humidity well and are accurate with regard to wind forecasts, but maintains the U.S. drought monitor is not part of the statute. He said the prime factor is the conditions that warrant the red flag and the criteria can be identified by monitoring television station weather forecasts in the area.

“I just want you to understand that if you were talking about zoning today, and you’re not, we would have this room packed with people saying a government entity cannot restrict us,” Doerr said. “You’re doing the same thing in a different way when you impose this fire ban. You’re telling individuals what they can or can’t do. There are provisions that allow it. We don’t have those criteria (to enact the ban). All we can do is go by the established criteria.”

Pyle implored residents to use extreme caution and place fire prevention efforts at an optimum level.

“Since there is no action that can be taken today, I would ask the citizens of the county to not burn and if they need to — please coordinate that with their local fire chief or fire marshal to make sure they are aware of it,” he said. “Maybe we can keep some of the fires that we have already had in the northern part of the county from occurring.”