LUBBOCK, Texas — On Monday, the Lubbock County Commissioner’s Court approved a 30-day burn ban for a portion of the county, but not all of Lubbock County.

The burn ban is for volunteer fire department services areas in Slaton, Buffalo Springs Lake, Ransom Canyon and Roosevelt within Precinct 2.

There would be exceptions made for public health and safety as needed.

Violation of the burn ban is considered a Class C misdemeanor. Violators could face up to a $500 fine.

Before commissioners cast their vote, there was a debate over the effectiveness of having a burn ban in place.

“Burn bans don’t work. It does zero to prevent fires,” said Tim Smith, Chief of the West Carlisle VFD and President of the Lubbock County Volunteer Firefighters Association.

Smith said the association would support any decision made by the court, but they felt launching a public awareness campaign would work better than a burn ban.

He also told the court that Lubbock County Emergency Management Coordinator Clinton Thetford had recently conducted a survey among the volunteer fire department chiefs in the county about burn bans. According to Smith, Thetford found only two chiefs who supported burn bans.

Commissioner Jason Corley, who represents Precinct 2, said the ban was needed following several recent fires in the area around the Yellow House Canyon.