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The Colorado County Commissioners Court approved a restriction on fireworks pending a burn ban order during its meeting, Monday, Dec. 8.
County Judge Ty Prause declared a burn ban for the county the following morning, Tuesday, Dec. 9, effective at 8 a.m. The order follows the court’s decision to preemptively approve a fireworks ban for the December holiday season due to weather and public safety concerns.
“Due to public safety hazards for rural acreage that’s not cultivated in parts of the county, has not been cultivated for 12 months or more— mainly all of the prairie and brush in the county that exists—and because of the lack of sufficient rain and high winds, cooler temperatures and the humidity causes a public safety hazard, I’m going to put the burn ban on,” Prause said.
Prause’s language seeks to address the conditions of the fireworks ban specifically for the December fireworks season outlined in Texas Local Government Code 352.051. The code permits the commissioners court of a county to restrict or prohibit firework sales and usage when the county is experiencing drought conditions or when “conditions on rural acreage in the county not under cultivation for a period of at least 12 months are determined to be extremely hazardous for the danger of fire because of high grass or vegetation.” Under the code, the fireworks ban must be enacted by Dec. 15 and no later.
Drought conditions per county are determined by the Keetch-Byram Drought Index, but heavy rainfall in weeks prior have lifted the county above drought conditions. The court discussed concerns over future dry, windy weather in length before making its proactive decision. Prause added that the burn ban would lighten the workload of local volunteer fire departments. Precinct 2 Commissioner Ryan Brant weighed in on the fireworks ban’s impact on local businesses.
“Burning is a novelty. You don’t have to do it all the time at your convenience. You do it when you don’t burn your neighbor down,” Brandt said. “…As much as I don’t want to inhibit someone’s personal business— you know, I was in the fireworks industry for a time—but I just can’t. No one wants to catch fire.”
The burn ban will last a week due to being a special order from the county judge and not an approved agenda item by the court. The court decided to watch the weather and possibly meet Monday, Dec. 15, to approve the burn ban’s continuance or let it expire.
Other business
The court also approved for county cellular phone service to transition to T-Mobile. The transition, also undertaken by many other government agencies in the area, will save the county a minimum of $8,000 a year and will ensure connectivity to first responders during emergencies through satellite networking.
The court renewed contracted medical and healthcare services and increased medical staffing hours provided to the Colorado County Jail. Jail representatives discussed with the court ongoing concerns with Texana Center’s screening system for inmates, including treatment costs to the inmates. The court voiced interest in revisiting the topic.
Precinct 4 Commissioner Darrell Gertson was appointed Judge Pro-Tem for 2026.
