All Lavaca County Volunteer Fire Departments and Lavaca County Office of Emergency Management request that prior to starting any controlled burning (woodpiles, fields or large refuse piles), please call the Lavaca County Communications Center at 361-798-2121. They will ask you for the location and a contact number. By doing this you will help prevent the needless dispatching of volunteer fire departments and will also receive information if a Burn Ban or Red Flag Warning is in place.
A Red Flag Warning can be issued by the National Weather Service or the Lavaca County Office of Emergency Management.
A Red Flag Warning from the NWS is based on warm temperatures, very low humidities, and when stronger winds are expected, which together can produce an increased risk of fire danger. NWS Red Flag Warnings are issued with a specific time period and may or may not be re-issued.
A Red Flag Warning from the Lavaca County Office of Emergency Management will be based on the above local conditions, plus the local Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KDBI) numbers for our county, the amount of dead surface vegetation, the number of control burns that have gotten out of control and needed Volunteer Fire Department(s) intervention, the number of fire departments that are involved in firefighting operations and forecast weather conditions. Red Flag Warnings issued by Lavaca County OEM last for a 24 hour period and expire at 0630 (6:30 a.m.) the following day. Conditions are re-evaluated daily and the warning is allowed to expire or is re-issued for the next 24 hour period.
A Red Flag Warning is not enforceable as a Burn Ban Order. Compliance is voluntary and respectfully requested.