Rich Flowers
The Athens Review
Athens —
The Henderson County Commissioners Court imposed a burn ban Tuesday, at the request of Fire Marshall Darrell Furrh.
The ban took effect immediately after the vote and will remain in place for two weeks. Furrh said he had talked with fire chiefs in the county and was told that they had not seen a big jump in the number of severity of grass fires.
“I think we should err on the side of caution before we have a catastrophy that takes down several buildings or causes a loss of life,” Furrh said.
With the arrival of September, the county usually begins to get an increase in rain, Furrh said, but it will take more than a little parcipitation to improve the dry conditions.
“If any grass is already dead, it’s going to burn,” Furrh said.
Precinct 1 County Commissioner Joe Hall his pasture and fields are extremely dry. Furrh explained that the east part of the county is not nearly as dry as the west side.
“We can’t split the county in two,” Furrh said.
