County commissioners extend burn ban for two more weeks

Comanche County Commissioners voted Monday to extend the county-wide burn ban for two more weeks.

Commissioners initially set a two-week ban in place Sept. 16, agreeing with Emergency Management Director Clint Langford’s finding that extreme fire danger exists, meaning severe, extreme or exceptional conditions existing within the county and no more than one-half inch of precipitation is forecast for the next three days. That designation is one that the State of Oklahoma sets, based on data set by the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, all of Comanche County remains in the Severe Drought category with the exception of the far southwest corner of the county, which is in Extreme Drought (the next worse category).

The existing ban will be revisited on or before Oct. 14, to determine if it still is needed, county officials said Monday. It was the same criteria set on the initial Sept. 16 burn ban.

The majority of the county’s rural and municipal fire chiefs agreed with the finding of extreme or exceptional conditions, according to Monday’s extension. Langford said in mid-September that fire chiefs have been monitoring the situation for weeks, as hot temperatures combined with extremely dry conditions to pose dangerous threats should a wildfire begin. A wildfire that began Sept. 20 burned more than 1,000 acres in the county and on Fort Sill before it was put out, and smaller fires continue to be reported.

The situation is not unique to Comanche County. All of Southwest Oklahoma remains in Severe or Extreme drought categories, with portions of Comanche, Kiowa, Harmon, Greer and Cotton counties in the Extreme Category. Most of Tillman County and all of Jackson County remain that category. All seven counties also have imposed burn bans, according to the Oklahoma Forestry Services.

The situation marks the first time since September 2022 that Comanche County commissioners approved a burn ban.

The burn ban applies to the county at large and the cities in Comanche County. While federal land — Native American lands, Fort Sill and Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge — do not fall under the mandate, officials in those areas typically take measures of their own, Langford said.