• David Tewes •
• Originally published May 28, 2008 at 9:56 a.m., updated May 28, 2008 at 9:56 a.m.

The wildfire danger is on the increase in Victoria County and one official warned Tuesday a ban on outdoor burning could be enacted soon.

“I hope we would not have to institute a burn ban, but I can see one coming,” County Judge Don Pozzi told the commissioners court. “The county is getting very dry again.”

Those who need to burn trash, brush or other materials before a ban is enacted should do so carefully, he said. They should also notify the county fire marshal’s office at 361-579-9103.

“This is not an invitation to go out and burn everything they have,” Pozzi said. “But at the same time, they need to know.”

Victoria Fire Chief Vance Riley said the absence of a burn ban doesn’t mean people shouldn’t be careful.

“There has been an increase in the number of grass and brush fires recently,” he said. “While they’re certainly not at the quantity you get during a drought, it’s a concern.’’

Wesley Joel Schmidt, the Raisin Volunteer Fire Chief, said there is still tinder left from last year that hasn’t turned green.

“We’ve been fortunate in that everybody has done a good job at burning,” he said. “But the conditions are there for a large, major fire.”

Ron Kramer, the Quail Creek Volunteer Fire Chief, said there haven’t been any wildfire problems recently.

“You can see the grass and weeds are starting to turn brown,” he said. “If we don’t get some substantial rain in the next week or so, it’s going to get bad.”

It would take 2 or 3 inches of rain to abate the current problem, Kramer said.

David Tewes is a reporter for the Advocate. Contact him at 361-580-6515 or dtewes@vicad.com, or comment on this story at www.VictoriaAdvocate.com.

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