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The Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality (TCEQ) regulates outdoor burning in Texas. The
following are guidelines for outdoor burning, as taken from the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality guidebook to Outdoor Burning:
1. PLEASE
notify
Brazos County 911 Dispatch in advance of your burn by calling
(979)-361-3888. You must call each day that you burn. This number is not
for reporting emergencies; to report a fire or other emergency, dial
911. Likewise, 911 is not to be used for
reporting controlled burn information.
2. You may burn
brush, leaves, untreated lumber, or any other natural product on the
land from which it was cleared. You
MAY NOT
burn insulation
(electrical or otherwise), treated or painted lumber, plastics,
sheetrock, shingles, carpet, rubber products, paints, oils, or any
material brought onto the site from elsewhere, including brush
cleared from another location. You may burn household garbage in a burn
barrel in areas where a rural trash pickup service is not available.
3.
You may not burn on
windy days or during dry periods. The wind speed MUST be greater than
6 miles per hour, but no more than 22 miles per hour. During
dry periods, the Brazos County Commissioner’s Court may enact a
“burn ban” in which NO OUTDOOR BURNING IS PERMITTED, including
burn barrels. Local radio and TV stations will broadcast
information on burn bans, and you may call Brazos County 911
Dispatch (non-emergency number) to request the wind speed and to find
out if a burn ban is in effect.
4.
Burning hours are
from one hour AFTER sunrise to one hour BEFORE sunset. No
additional material may be added to the fire that would cause burning to
extend past this time.
5. Campfires, cooking
fires, and bonfires are allowed to burn after dark, as long as the
materials are those listed above as legal to burn. During periods of a
burn ban, these types of fires may not be burned. Other
than burn bans, and legal materials listed above, the general rules on
allowable outdoor burning do not apply to fires covered by this
exception.
6. Your fire must be
downwind of or at least three hundred feet from the nearest property
with any type of structure. The immediate area of the fire should be
clear of brush, overhanging limbs, and other combustibles. You should
have a shovel, rake, and a hose connected to a reliable water source
nearby to prevent the spread of the fire. The fire must be tended at
all times until it is completely out.
7. If wind carries smoke
across any public roadway, you must post someone on the road to flag
traffic in accordance with Texas Department of Public Safety
regulations.
8. If the smoke is
causing a nuisance of any type to anyone, the fire must be put out even
if all the above rules are followed.
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