Published: July 23, 2006 11:38 pm      

Drought still ongoing

GREENVILLE — The heat wave may be over for now, but the drought doesn’t appear to be going anywhere.

State officials have stationed additional firefighting resources in Greenville to combat the growing threat of wildfires in the surrounding area.

Acting Regional Fire Coordinator John Fugitt said the extra aircraft and other equipment which were sent late last week to Majors Field Municipal Airport were in response to the continued dry weather and an increase in fire activity in Hunt County and the surrounding area..

"Along with the dozer permanently stationed in Greenville, we’re staffing an additional dozer and bringing in support personnel," Fugitt said. "The Texas Forest Service is glad to be able to supplement our resources to help support local fire departments in the Greenville region."

Majors Field is now home to a heavy helicopter capable of dropping 750 gallons of water on a fire and an air tactical platform, which is a twin engine plane that flies a supervisor to coordinate aircraft over a fire. The aircraft and support personnel were staged at the Granbury airport prior to moving to Greenville.

Fifteen firefighters and support personnel are prepositioned in the Greenville Regional Fire Coordination Center, which normally houses one fire supervisor and a dozer unit.

"The vegetation around Hunt and the surrounding counties is critically dry," Fugitt said. "We responded to at least one fire every day last week, and the fire departments have been responding to a lot of activity. The Texas Forest Service has had a long standing, good relationship with Hunt County, and they’ve been generous to work hand-in-hand with us, even providing office space for us.”

All indicators show Hunt County to be in extreme drought, with little chance of relief before this fall.

As of Saturday afternoon, the Keetch-Byram Drought Index listed Hunt County under an average drought reading of 716. Some areas of the county had a reading of 743. The absolute highest reading under the index is 800.

Other measurements indicate it would take between 12 and 15 inches of rain to return soil in the region to saturation.

A ban on outdoor burning remains in place for both Hunt County and the City of Greenville. Those found violating the burn ban can be cited to appear in a justice of the peace court and face fines of up to $500 for each offense.