Local county fire marshals warn that a burn ban is needed in the Cedar Creek Lake area, but many of the areas' elected county officials are ignoring the warning.

The Kaufman County Commissioners Court passed a burn ban on Aug. 11 when Fire Marshal Larry Ewing advised them to do so. But the Henderson County Commissioners Court ignored the same warning from Fire Marshal Shane Renberg Aug. 26.

Kaufman County extends to the Kemp and Mabank area of the northside of Cedar Creek Lake while Henderson County controls the southside of the lake.

Renberg told the court that the Keetch-Byram rating reached 601, and that firefighters are struggling to put out grass fires that keep cropping up, according to the Athens Daily Review. The benchmark for imposing a burn ban is generally when the rating reaches 575.

Navarro County and Ellis County  also set burn bans  recently. Eighty-one Texas counties, representing about one-third of the state's counties,  now have burn bans in effect.

Henderson County commissioners opposing the ban said rain is in the forecast so a motion by Precinct 1 Commissioner Scott Thomas to set the burn ban died for lack of a second. The commissioners said they would revisit the issue next week if conditions do not improve.

During extreme heat and drought grass fires ignite and get out of control quickly. Volunteer fire departments from several cities responded to fires in Henderson County's Precinct 1 recently.