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Kendall County Keeps Burn Ban in Place as High Winds, Low Humidity Persist
Summary
County emergency official recommended keeping an active burn ban as fire chiefs support continued restrictions amid extreme drought and high winds; county set automatic mutual-aid paging and an ambulance assignment through March 17, may extend.
Kendall County commissioners on March 11 voted to keep the countywide burn ban in place as emergency conditions — high winds and low humidity — continue across the region.
County emergency staff described the conditions as a "recipe for disaster," noting an instance the previous week in which a wind-driven fire near Johns Road was stopped quickly with assistance from Boerne Fire Department. ‘‘The recommendation is to keep the burn ban on until further notice,’’ Brady, a county emergency services staff member, told the court, citing continued single-digit and teen relative-humidity forecasts and strong winds through the coming days.
Why it matters: County officials said continuing the ban lowers the chance of wildfires spreading under the expected windy conditions. Brady told the court that all local fire chiefs supported the recommendation and that state and regional firefighting assets remain on alert and positioned to assist.
The county also implemented operational steps tied to the ban: nearest two fire departments will be automatically paged for grass-fire incidents and a dedicated ambulance will be assigned to those responses through 8:00 a.m. on March 17, 2025; commissioners were advised the arrangements could be extended if conditions do not improve. Brady said air and ground assets have been staged regionally and that crews are staffing stations and pre-positioning resources.
The court discussed how agricultural burning is handled during a county burn ban. Brady noted that state law provides a narrow exception for agricultural field burns for planting and harvesting under the Outdoor Burning Act; those burns remain subject to the act’s operational parameters (wind, time of day) and may still be unsafe on very windy days.
The court did not adopt a new ordinance; the vote recorded continued the existing ban until further notice and committed staff to monitoring conditions and lifting the ban when conditions permit. Commissioners asked staff to provide clarifications about which assets were deployed and about public guidance for landowners considering planned agricultural burns.
Ending: County staff said they will revisit the ban as weather forecasts change and will notify the court if lifting the restriction is appropriate. Residents were urged to follow local fire-safety guidance and contact county dispatch with questions about permitted activity during the burn ban.
