County commissioners may let burn ban expire next week

A weekend of rain is good news in more than one way.

Not only did the drenching that brought more than 3 inches of welcome rain to Lawton and up to 6 inches in some areas of the county give needed relief to vegetation, it has Comanche County officials considering the idea of ending their burn ban.

Comanche County has been under a burn ban since Sept. 16, with Comanche County commissioners acting three times since then (most recently, Oct. 29) to extend the ban another 14 days. The most recent ban expires Nov. 15, and Emergency Management Director Clint Langford said Monday he expected to recommend that commissioners let the ban expire when the time for renewal comes next week. It’s a decided change from only two weeks ago, when Langford had expected the burn ban to remain in place for the remainder of the year.

As late as last Thursday, almost all of Southwest Oklahoma was in the D3 Extreme Drought category; the slivers of land not in D3 were in D2 Severe Drought. Commissioners in most of the region’s counties also had enacted burn bans.

“We probably will recommend we come out (of the ban),” Langford said Monday, adding he wanted to see how the drought monitor changes before making his final recommendation to commissioners.

The rains also were welcome news for the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, where firefighters have been battling a blaze that began in late October.

Fire crews said Sunday that Oklahoma 115 and Oklahoma 49 had reopened, and most recreational areas and trailheads in the refuge would reopen Monday. However, the Refuge Visitor Center and Rush Lake Road would remain closed because of the roles they were playing in the fire management and recovery efforts, officials said. Camping is expected to resume in the refuge on Wednesday, while Holy City is evaluating its cleanup needs and will reopen as soon as it is able, according to Quinton Smith, supervisory park ranger at the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge.