The Kendall County Commissioners Court voted Tuesday to reimpose a county-wide burn ban for the next two weeks while rescuers and search teams continue combing the area for survivors from Friday’s devastating flooding.
County Judge Shane Stolarczyk suggested the ban be restored while hundreds of search-and-recovery workers remain along the banks of — and in — the Guadalupe River.
“Given our search and rescue efforts going on, I’d like to make a recommendation that we reimpose the burn ban,” Stolarczyk said.
He said people are eager to dispose of the large, mounting debris piles being gathered on property along the Guadalupe.
“But we have at least 20-25 search-and-rescue teams coming to Kendall County, and we want to make sure they have the full opportunity to search these debris piles before burning occurs,” he said.
He said there will be helicopters, planes and drones in the air “and we don’t want to cause any conditions that interfere with the rescue effort,” he said.
Any fires could disrupt thermal locators mounted on helicopters, the commission was told. Also, the fire marshal’s office is shortstaffed for approving permits, with most of its staff out in the field.
“Could we just do it for two weeks?” County Precinct 2 Commissioner Andra Wisian said. “I’m sure people will understand, there’s something a little bit more important right now than an individual that needs to burn.”
Stolarczyk said the dozens of search teams are at the county border now, “so they should be in and out of our county within the next 10 days.”
Rather than start creating restrictions to apply to just the Guadalupe River basin, commissioners decided an all-out two-week ban would suffice.
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