WHEREAS, in accordance with provisions of Chapter 418 of the Texas Government Code (the Texas disaster Act of 1975), a state of disaster is declared based on the imminent threat of disaster from wild fire; and
WHEREAS, declaration of such disaster authorized the imposition of controls on activities which tend to increase the likelihood of such fires;
THEREFORE, BE IT ORDERED that the following emergency regulations are hereby established for all unincorporated areas of Gray County, Texas beginning June 16, 2020. This declaration may not exceed seven days unless extended by the Gray County Commissioners Court.
1. Actions Prohibited:
A person violates this order if he burns any combustible material outside of an enclosure which serves to contain all flames and/or sparks, or orders such burning by others.
2. Enforcement:
• Upon notification of suspected outdoor burning, the fire department assigned to the location of the fire shall respond to the scene and take immediate measures to contain and/or extinguish the fire.
• As soon as possible, a duly-commissioned peace officer shall be sent to the scene to investigate the nature of the fire.
• If in the opinion of the officer at the scene and/or the Fire Chief, the goal of the order can be attained by informing the responsible party about the prohibitions established by this order, the officer may, at his discretion, notify the party about the provisions of this order and request compliance with it. In such instances, an entry of the notification shall be made into the dispatchers log containing the time, date, and place of the warning, and the name of the person receiving the warning.
3. At the discretion of the peace officer and/or Fire Chief, second or flagrant violations of this order may be prosecuted in accordance with the statutes and procedures governing misdemeanors.
BE IT ALSO ORDERED that this order may be enforced by any duly-commissioned peace officer and that the venue for prosecution of this order will be Justice of the Peace Court, Gray County, Texas.
Signed at my desk this the 16st day of June, 2020
