Burn ban expires after 97 days

Bastrop County’s burn ban, first enacted in September and in place for more than three months, expired at midnight Dec. 22 after county commissioners opted not to extend the restrictions.

Commissioners voted to table the burn ban for further consideration following testimony that most local fire chiefs supported allowing it to expire.

James Altgelt, emergency management coordinator for the Bastrop County Office of Emergency Management, said recent conditions no longer justify the restrictions.