Rain Playing Catch-Up, Burn Ban Lifted

Aug 20, 2008 - 15:16:08 CDT.

With rainy weather conditions providing nearly six inches of rain for the Fredericksburg area over the past four weeks, Gillespie County Judge Mark Stroeher on Monday lifted a county-wide burn ban on the recommendation of County Fire Marshal Steve Olfers.

Monday’s order came after Olfers had last week visited with Gillespie’s rural fire department chiefs who concurred with the decision.

“Some parts of the county had some pretty sizable amounts of rain,” Stroeher said Monday. “Hopefully, we’ll get some more rain, and we won’t have to put it (a ban) back on in a couple of weeks.”

In a statement given to the Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post, Stroeher advised residents that “even though we have had some moisture and higher daytime humidity, everyone is requested to use extreme caution when burning.”

The county’s latest burn ban period had been implemented nearly a month ago on July 23 during a Gillespie County Commissioner’s meeting and was scheduled to expire at the end of 90 days on Sept. 20 if not lifted earlier.

During the past two weeks alone, the rain gauge at Lady Bird Johnson Municipal Park where the City of Fredericksburg’s official weather station is located, has measured a total of 4.28 inches of rain.

So far this week, the gauge there has recorded 2.24 inches through yesterday after 2.18 fell here the previous week.

Those totals, together with another 1.34 inches that fell there July 23-29, bring to 5.76 inches the overall total of moisture for the past four weeks.

Already in August, the park’s total of 4.42 inches has easily surpassed the 2.52 inches which normally fall here during that month.

As a result, Fredericksburg has so far in 2008 received 13.54 inches of rain -- slightly closing the gap for the 18.11 inches that are usually measured here by this time of the year.

Meanwhile, the park rain gauge this year is far behind the unusually wet 37.25 inches which had fallen here by this time in 2007, thanks in part to the 8.05 inches measured there in August of 2007 alone.

This week’s rainfall has also had an effect on the temperatures, with Monday’s high reaching only 82 degrees to go with readings of 90 and 90 on Saturday and Sunday along with an 88 on Tuesday.

Those numbers are in marked contrast to warmer times this spring and summer when the mercury in the park thermometer since Feb. 25 has reached into the 90s or 100s on 95 days.

Monday’s decision by Judge Stroeher marks the third lifting of a county-wide burn ban this year.

The first ban was implemented during a special commissioners’ court meeting on New Year’s Eve before being listed almost four weeks later on Jan. 24.

But then, two weeks later on Feb. 4, the court reinstituted a ban that stayed in place for the next 2½ months until being lifted on April 18.