County commissioners let burn ban expire

Comanche County is officially out of a burn ban.

Comanche County commissioners agreed Tuesday with a recommendation from Emergency Management Director Clint Langford that the county not extend the ban that had severely restricted burning and most other fire-related activities.

Commissioners have been extending that burn ban every two weeks since the initial ban was put into place Sept. 16, responding to dry conditions that had Comanche County and most other counties in Southwest Oklahoma in D3 Extreme Drought. According to the most recent drought monitor, the county now is in D2 Severe Drought.

District 3 Commissioner Josh Powers said commissioners will look at the issue on a week-to-week basis to see if the ban needs to be imposed again, adding while residents and businesses now can resume outdoor burning activities, they should use precautions.

Rain provided the solution to the woes of drought-stricken counties in the region.

Lawton has received 5.49 inches of rain since Nov. 1, according to the National Weather Service, and some points in the immediate area had received between 9 and 10 inches by Monday, including the northern part of Comanche County including the north face of the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge where the Rush fire burned more than 12,000 acres.

While every county in Oklahoma’s southwest region was in Extreme Drought (with small areas in Severe Drought), the Nov. 5 reading (the most recent), shows most of the region has moved to Severe Drought, with some northern areas in Moderate Drought. No part of the state remains in Extreme Drought, and all burn bans have been lifted.

A new monitor reading was taken Tuesday, with the results to be released Thursday.