Despite the fall season approaching, the lack of moisture along with high temperatures continue to amplify drought conditions resulting in wildfire conditions being a constant threat.
As Hockley County is not under a burn ban, county community members are encouraged to practice safe burning practices which includes taking into account wind speed and high temperatures.
Additionally, those choosing to burn should be vigilant of their surroundings as loose debris could be a catalyst for the spread of a fire. In the case of emergency, a fire suppresent should be on hand while also having a mobile device on hand to contact 9-1-1 in the case of emergency.
In regard to controlled burns for individuals outside the city limits within Hockley County, people are encouraged to contact their local fire department and notify them of burns that would be taking place.
In turn, this would establish a solid line of communication with the burner in case calls are received from others regarding a fire or if the controlled burn becomes uncontrolled.
There have been a number of fire reports recounting burning debris left unattended or not reported in.
Currently, there are 73 counties under a burn ban while the remaining 181 counties are not. Counties under a burn ban include: Lamb County, Bailey County, Cochran County, Yoakum County and Garza County. Citizens can find counties under burn bans by utilizing the Texas A&M Forest Service Texas County Burn Ban Map. The map includes the date of establishing the burn banalong with the days elapsed under the ban.
Community members are encouraged to be mindful of controlled burns as they can get out of control. While those have not been an issue, the Levelland Fire Department is reminding citizens that burning is not allowed within the City of Levelland and controlled burns should be called into the LFD before proceeding.
Residents of Hockley County are encouraged to go to RUAWARE.US to register for Hockley County Alerts.
Business Owners in Hockley County can go to https://r.iinfo. com/hockleycobizcontact for business alerts. Also, individuals are encouraged to check their wireless device has the “emergency alerts by location” turned on.
That will allow notifications to come through similar to amber alerts but are initiated locally for emergency situations such as tornado warning or dynamic police incidents.
Individuals should not assume that getting amber alerts to their phone their settings are correct for the notification; people will have to allow location alerts.
What location alert means is it will send the message based off geographical boundaries; the alert can be isolated to a specific area for only those within the preset boundary to receive the notification.
This is a voluntary activation as amber alert system is not voluntary. A ll alerts through this system come from local officials; never spam, solicitation calls, text messages or emails. All of the text messages will come from the same number so it can be saved in contacts to be easily recognized.