Pecos County Judge Joe Shuster took a precautionary step on Tuesday to aid wildfire breakouts that could potentially take place due to the current drought conditions in the county.

Shuster signed a Disaster of Declaration Threat of Wildfires on April 5 following Governor Greg Abbott’s proclamation that was signed on April 1.

The action by Shuster will allow the county to ask for assistance from the state and federal government for any reimbursements on property loss.

The declaration will be effective for the next seven days and could be extended at the commissioner’s court regular meeting on Monday, April 11.

“There is a certain monetary threshold that the county must qualify to be able to ask for a Fire Management Assistance Grant on any damages that the citizens of Pecos County can ask for help.  If we do meet this threshold, the declaration will already be placed and make it easier for the county to ask the federal government for assistance,” said Jessie Dominguez, Pecos County Emergency Management Coordinator. “The farmers and ranchers can ask for assistance on property/livestock lost in a wildfire, along with any other citizens of Pecos County affected. We hope we do not see any large outbreaks, but we just want to be prepared for the worst-case scenario.”

The governor signed a proclamation for 56 counties on April 1, certifying that wildfires pose an imminent threat of widespread or severe damage, injury, or loss of life or property in an additional number of Texas counties and thereby declaring a state of disaster.

The Keetch-Byram Drought value for Pecos County is at an average of 584 as of April 5. The maximum value measured in the county is at 743 while the lowest is at 446.

The KBDI is an index used to determining forest fire potential. The drought index is based on a daily water balance, where a drought factor is balanced with precipitation and soil moisture.

The drought index ranges from zero to 800, where a drought index of zero represents no moisture depletion and an index of 800 represents the driest conditions.

In addition to the declaration, the county’s burn ban is still in effect and will be up for renewal at the commissioner’s meeting on April 11.