ALTUS, Okla_Jackson County's Emergency Manager said the
county is ready to see the burn ban lifted. They are just one of 33 counties
that still remain under Governor Mary Fallin's state-issued burn ban. Even
though Southwest Oklahoma finally got some
much needed rain, the burn ban for most of this part of the state is still in
effect.
Emergency Manager
Wayne Cain said he's seeing the effects of the recent rainfall all over the
county. The grass is looking greener and the lakes are looking higher. But Altus Emergency Manager Lloyd
Colston said don't be fooled by the change in scenery going on.
A red, white
and yellow map of Oklahoma details the 33 Oklahoma counties under Governor
Fallin's burn ban. Jackson
County is one, but its
emergency manager said that should not be the case.
"We've had
three to six inches of rain in most parts of the county in the last week, the
winds are a little up, but we've had
high due points."
Altus Emergency
Management Director Lloyd Colston supports the governor's decision to keep the
ban in place.
"Clearly
we are improved weather wise so we're not in red flag condition but clearly we
haven't met the comfort level or some of our state leadership."
Colston said
more lakes filled with water would help, and that this corner of the state, in
comparison to central Oklahoma,
for example, is still quite dry.
"When I left Northeast
Oklahoma this weekend, I came back and saw a very lovely sight and that was
standing water in the fields from the heavy rains they got especially around
the city and Caddo County. That was a nice sight, I'm not seeing so much of
that in Altus."
"If
something transpires and we need to reiterate that burn ban, then we can on the
county level through our county commissioners and my office," Cain said.
Colston said he
is in contact with the state's weather service daily and said officials are
looking to announce the state's current drought condition this Thursday.
That could also
be a reason why certain counties have not yet seen the burn ban lifted.
7News contacted
the Governor's office earlier Tuesday and they said the burn ban could be
removed for Southwest Oklahoma counties by the
end of the week.
