Friday, March 29, 2024

Burn Ban in Effect in Tarrant County starting today, July 3, 2018

UPDATE 8/24/2018 – The Tarrant County Burn Ban was lifted 8/21/2018.

Late this morning, Tarrant County Officials approved an outdoor burn ban that will be in effect for the next ninety (90) days.

What does this mean if you live in the City of Southlake?

All outdoor burning, such as burning leaves and branches and bonfires, is not allowed within the City of Southlake without a permit, but using your grill or fire pit typically isn’t a problem.  If you are unsure about using an open flame, give us a call at the Fire Marshal’s office, (817) 748-8106.

Once Tarrant County issues any kind of burn ban the City of Southlake will adhere to the burn ban regulations to maintain consistency with burn bans within the county. This means that no permits will be issued for open flames.

“Because it’s been so hot and so dry, it’s always better to be safe than sorry,” said Fire Chief Mike Starr. “We want to remind our citizens to use caution whenever they are dealing with open flames.”

He also noted that an outdoor burn ban means that experts feel conditions are ripe for an imminent threat of severe damage, injury, or loss of life or property resulting from the threat of wildfire due to the dry grass conditions and gusty winds that can occur.

A violation of the International Fire Code, related to open burning, is a class C Misdemeanor and punishable of a fine up to $2,000.00.

For information on outdoor cooking and outdoor welding guidelines, you can go to www.tarrantcounty.com and click on the Burn Ban link on the right side of the page.

For our residents in the rural areas, we strongly suggest that you make sure you keep about 30 feet of mowed area around your home and any other buildings on your property, to help prevent a fire from reaching your structures.

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