August 10, 2023 – The latest Drought Map from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows Hopkins County to have a “No Drought” rating as of August 8th, 2023. As surrounding counties, mostly to our South and West are showing to start increasing in their drought rating, some are beginning to enforce burn bans in their counties. Officials in Hopkins County have not yet announced a burn ban for local residents but do advise county residents to use extreme caution when burning trash, brush, or working with equipment outdoors. Hopkins County Fire Chief Andy Endsley also warns those performing any outdoor welding to use caution and have fire extenguishers and/or water on hand in case of an emergency.
The latest Drought Map released this week show some counties in central Texas to now be experiencing “Exceptional Drought” which is the highest or worst rating of D4 on the drought scale. Closer to home, most of Van Zandt County to our South is now in the D0 category showing to be “Abnormally Dry” prompting officials in that county to issue a burn ban for 90 days starting August 7th, 2023.
