By Scott Harvey
– With South Texas suffering the worst of the state's current drought, few Northeast Texas Counties are declaring burn bans.
In fact, as of Thursday Rockwall County was the only such county to have enacted the ban. During a meeting of the Hunt County Fire Chiefs earlier this week, no ban was recommended. Rains County Commissioners Thursday also opted not to put any restrictions in place for now.
As of Thursday, The Texas Forestry Service listed 153 Texas Counties under burn bans. Last week, Governor Rick Perry issued a disaster proclamation for 167 counties, including all counties within the listening area.
The proclamation allows the state to activate all essential resources, suspends pertinent rules and regulations that could impede the state's ability to quickly respond to the constantly changing threat. It also allows the state to request federal assistance.
A majority of counties under burn bans are in the Southeast and West Texas regions.