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Collin County officials: Burn ban working
By Dan Eakin, deakin@starlocalnews.com
Collin County residents are abiding by the burn ban that went into effect July 31, and the number of grass fires each week is now half the number they were before.
Jason Browning, Collin County interim fire marshal, said an average of 10 or 11 grass fires are still occurring throughout the county each week. He said there were 28 grass fires in the county the week before the burn ban went into effect and 21 the week it went into effect.
"Once people knew that the outdoor burn ban was in effect, they cooperated," he said, adding that no one in the county was fined for violating the outdoor burn ban order during August. "So far, we have had 100 percent cooperation by the people."
Many of the grass fires in rural areas were caused by machinery, he said.
While corn crops, Milo and stubble have been harvested, machinery in several cases has set off fires that firefighters had to be put out.
While some have burned several acres, Browning said there have been no fires in the county that have been drastic or have caused enormous amounts of damage.
He said a trailer tire blowout caused one grass fire, a burned out bearing caused another and a discarded cigarette butt on a roadside caused another.
He asked people to continue to be as cautious as possible to avoid grass fires.
On July 31, at Browning's recommendation, County Judge Keith Self ordered the burn ban to go into effect for up to 90 days, and the Collin County Commissioners Court approved the order at its next meeting.
Most North Texas counties have an outdoor burn ban in effect, including Grayson County which only this week ordered a burn ban. Other area counties with outdoor burn bans include Dallas, Denton, Rockwall, Fannin and Lamar. Hunt County is one of the few counties in the area that does not have an outdoor burn ban in effect.
Dry weather is expected to continue for several days. A cool front is expected to drop highs into the 80s in Collin County later this week, but the chance of rain is listed at only 20 percent.
Of the 40-plus grass fires fought in Collin County during August, 10 were in the McKinney area.
Stacie Durham, McKinney Fire Department public information officer, said those 10 fires were extinguished: Aug. 1 at 3001 S. Central Expressway; Aug. 2 at 9708 Blackwater Creek Trail and in the 2100 block of N. Central Expressway; Aug. 7 in the 4600 block of N. U.S. Highway 75; Aug. 12 at Shenandoah Drive and Valley View Drive; Aug. 14 at 1401 Harroun Ave.; Aug. 24 at South Lake Forest Drive and Collin McKinney Parkway; Aug. 25 at Spur 399 and Medical Center Drive; and Aug. 30 at 6861 Eldorado Pkwy. and at County Road 161 and County Road 124.
None of those grass fires burned more than acre, Durham said.
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