News

Aug 16, 2023

Tarrant County issues burn ban for unincorporated areas

On Tuesday, Tarrant County Commissioners approved an outdoor burning ban for the unincorporated area for the next 90 days due to the hot and dry conditions. “We encourage all Tarrant County residents

On Tuesday, Tarrant County Commissioners approved an outdoor burning ban for the unincorporated area for the next 90 days due to the hot and dry conditions.

“We encourage all Tarrant County residents to take these precautions and be safe during this time of extreme drought conditions,” said Randy Renois, the Fire Marshal.

He's reminding residents in rural areas to keep a perimeter of about 30 feet around properties mowed to prevent possible fires from reaching buildings. Debris and vegetation should also be removed since they can be fuel for fires. They also suggest keeping water hoses nearby in the case of a small fire.

Violating the burn ban is a misdemeanor with a fine of up to $500. In a statement, the county said the ban excludes cooking, welding and the use of fire pits for social gatherings. They offered more information on how to do these activities properly and follow certain guidelines.

MedStar said between Sunday and Monday, crews have treated 23 patients. A spokesperson said 16 of them were taken to hospitals and 2 are in critical condition.

"It's a little bit abnormal because normally we would see the volume begin to taper off at this time of year because people become accustomed to the heat, however, it's likely that we have a whole bunch of new residents in the North Texas area who aren't used to this prolonged heat, so we just want people to remain that make remain vigilant," said Matt Zavadsky with Medstar.

He said the increase in humidity impacting the heat indexes of feel-like temperatures of about 110 may be catching people off guard.

They also have a 'heat map' which shows areas in Fort Worth that they've responded to specifically for heat-related illnesses.

“So we generate heat maps, no pun intended, that shows us where we're seeing the predominance of our heat-related responses and as not terribly unexpected, we see a lot of the heat-related responses are occurring in the downtown Fort Worth area," explained Zavadsky. "That could likely be because there's a lot of construction, both road and building construction, and workers can't follow a lot of the advice that we normally give about necessarily staying out of the heat. It also is an area where there tends to be a high level of homeless patients and homeless people don't always have again, that same capability of seeking shelter that others might have the ability to.”

He said roofers have also taken a beating from the hot conditions.

"We've seen a lot of roofers suffering heat-related illness. One of my best friends is a air conditioning service person, so he actually had a heat-related emergency when he was in the attic of someone's house trying to fix their air conditioning and those things do happen pretty regularly," said Zavadsky.

Veritas Roofing in Fort Worth said they are giving their crews extra breaks, water and drinks with electrolytes to help them stay cool and safe in the extreme heat.

"When you’re up there it feels like whenever you’re baking a pie and you open it (the oven) up and that heat wave just hits you, but it’s that times 20, everywhere all over your body," said Matthew Koepp with Veritas Roofing who has worked on at least 1,000 roofs over the years.

The company said in their type of business, the job still has to get done, but that the safety of their employees is a top priority, especially since many of their crews are fathers and husbands.

"When you’re on an asphalt shingle roof, it’s actually anywhere from 40 to 60 degrees hotter, but the need still exists, people still need new roofs so we’re not going to tell them no and shut down for 3 months out of the year, we just got to make sure we take care of our guys," said Austin Ford vice president of sales and operations for the company.

When it comes to symptoms, Zavadsky said it's important to listen to your body.

"If you or someone that you're with starts to have lightheadedness, dizziness, heavy sweating, fatigue or muscle cramps, that's a sign that you're starting that first phase of a heat-related illness which is heat exhaustion. Left untreated heat exhaustion can go into heatstroke," said Zavadasky.