You can donate them to less fortunate people looking forward to viewing a future Eclipse in another country later this year! People may drop off eclipse glasses for recycling at the Central Texas Electric Cooperative (CTEC) Offices, the Liebeskind Children's Boutique, or the Create Healthy Thrift Store and officials will mail them to South America for use in the next eclipse. Trash bags are also offered to community organizations whose members want to pick up trash in town or county. Anyone interested can email jkrupa@fbgtx.org to pick up bags or for more information.
Gillespie County and the City of Fredericksburg have partnered with CivicReady to implement its mass notification solution. Available from CivicPlus, a leader in integrated technology for local government, the CivicReady solution will allow Gillespie County and the City of Fredericksburg to issue urgent notifications, emergency instructions, warnings, and routine communications to subscribed citizens and visitors via email, text message, and voice alert, to keep our community safe and informed. In the event of a local emergency, those subscribed to CivicReady will benefit from immediate, actionable information and instructions sent via their preferred notification channel.
CivicReady AlertSense is part of the CivicPlus Platform of local government technology solutions designed exclusively for the public sector.
“This technology will enable anyone who lives in the community, as well as those visiting, to receive emergency alerts and community notifications that may impact them and/or their families. This is also a tool that can be used if you have a family member or friend living in Fredericksburg or Gillespie County and you want to be made aware of any emergencies they may be facing. Gillespie County and the City of Fredericksburg are excited to have this tool in the toolbox to keep our community better informed of emergency situations,” stated Justin Calhoun, Emergency Management Coordinator.
CivicReady offers several ways to sign up for notifications. One way is to text ‘FBGTX’ or “Gillespie’ to 38276. Those wishing to subscribe may also visit https://fredericksburg-tx.myfreealerts.com/ to sign up for notifications.
The Board of Director of the Hill Country Underground Water Conservation District (“District”) at their August 8, 2023 board meeting declared a Stage 4 Drought, which is Critical. The District recommends a 20% reduction in daily water demands, a 40% in maximum daily demands. The District encourages all permit holders, including historic wells, to comply. For residential wells the District recommends outdoor watering be limited to one day per week. During this prolonged drought, not only the citizens of Gillespie County, but throughout the Hill Country area need to conserve water. Conservation measures, such as limiting outdoor watering to one day per week should be practiced. Any water leaks should be repaired. Water conservation measures can reduce demand and help preserve existing groundwater supplies to ensure adequate groundwater is available through this current drought. We encourage everyone to participate to maximize success in this persistent drought.
For more information, visit: https://hcuwcd.org/
Drought Condition Alert
- The Local Drought Index as of March 2, 2024 is -0.60, which is a mild drought stage. The U.S. Drought Monitor, as of March 5, 2024, has Gillespie County in Moderate to Extreme Drought Stages. Outdoor watering should be limited to once a week, and all indoor and outdoor leaks should be fixed.
- The Local Drought Index as of February 3, 2024 is -0.39, which is a mild drought stage. The U.S. Drought Monitor, as of January 30, 2024, has Gillespie County in Moderate to Extreme Drought Stages. Outdoor watering should be limited to once a week, and all indoor and outdoor leaks should be fixed.
- The Local Drought Index as of October 30, 2023 is -2.08, which is a moderate drought stage. The U.S. Drought Monitor, as of November 7, 2023, has Gillespie County in Severe and Extreme Drought Intensity. Outdoor watering should be limited to once a week, and all indoor and outdoor leaks should be fixed.
- The Local Drought Index as of September 30, 2023 is -3.47, which is a severe drought stage. The U.S. Drought Monitor, as of October 3, 2023, has Gillespie County in Exceptional & Extreme Drought Intensity. Outdoor watering should be limited to once a week, and all indoor and outdoor leaks should be fixed.
- The Local Drought Index as of July 30, 2023, 2023 is -2.71, which is a moderate drought stage. The U.S. Drought Monitor, as of August 8, 2023, has Gillespie County in Extreme and Exception Drought Intensity. Outdoor watering should be limited to once a week, and all indoor and outdoor leaks should be fixed.
- The Local Drought Index as of July 2, 2023, 2023 is -2.58, which is a moderate drought stage. The U.S. Drought Monitor, as of July 18, 2023, has Gillespie County in Extreme and Exception Drought Intensity. Outdoor watering should be limited to once a week, and all indoor and outdoor leaks should be fixed.
- The Local Drought Index as of June 3, 2023 is -2.14, which is a moderate drought stage. The U.S. Drought Monitor, as of June 27, 2023, has Gillespie County in multiple intensity stages: Severe Drought, Extreme Drought and Exception Drought. Outdoor watering should be limited to once a week, and all indoor and outdoor leaks should be fixed.
- The Local Drought Index as of April 29, 2023 is -3.06, which is a severe drought stage. The U.S. Drought Monitor, as of May 23, 2023, has Gillespie County in multiple intensity stages: Severe Drought, Extreme Drought and Exception Drought. Outdoor watering should be limited to once a week, and all indoor and outdoor leaks should be fixed.
- The Local Drought Index as of March 4, 2023 is -3.26, which is a severe drought stage. The U.S. Drought Monitor, as of March 7, 2023, has Gillespie County in Extreme Drought to Exception Drought stage. Outdoor watering should be limited to once a week, and all indoor and outdoor leaks should be fixed.
- The Local Drought Index as of February 4, 2023 is -3.28, which is a severe drought stage. The U.S. Drought Monitor, as of February 7, 2023, has Gillespie County in multiple categories from Severe Drought to Exception Drought stage. Outdoor watering should be limited to once a week, and all indoor and outdoor leaks should be fixed.
- The Local Drought Index as of December 31, 2022 is a -3.59, which is a severe drought stage. The U.S. Drought Monitor, as of January 17, 2023, has Gillespie County in multiple categories from Severe Drought to Exception Drought stage. Outdoor watering should be limited to once a week, and all indoor and outdoor leaks should be fixed.
- The Local Drought Index as of October 29, 2022 is a -4.40, which is a critical drought stage. The U.S. Drought Monitor, as of December 6, 2022, has Gillespie County in multiple categories from Moderate Drought to Exception Drought stage. Outdoor watering should be limited to once a week, and all indoor and outdoor leaks should be fixed.
For more information, visit: https://hcuwcd.org/
People and their activities cause more than 90 percent of all wildfires in Texas. The largest number of human-caused wildfires is a result of careless debris burning. Other causes of wildfires include sparks from welding and grinding equipment, carelessly discarded smoking materials, vehicles’ exhaust systems and arson.
Debris Burning
Compliance with burn bans reduces unsafe debris burning; but a burn ban does not have to be in effect for outdoor burning to be illegal.
Negligently allowing your fire to escape onto someone else’s property is a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine up to $500.
Tips to Safer Debris Burning:
- Check for local bans on outdoor burning.
- Keep informed of wildfire danger levels.
- Avoid burning trash, leaves and brush on dry, windy days.
- Check to see if weather changes are expected. Postpone outdoor burning if shifts in wind direction, high winds or wind gusts are in the forecast.
- Before doing any burning, establish wide control lines down to bare mineral soil at least five feet wide around any burn barrels and even wider around brush piles and other piled debris to be burned. The larger the debris pile, the wider the control line needed to ensure burning materials won’t be blown or roll off the pile into vegetation outside the line.
- Burn household trash only in a burn barrel or other trash container equipped with a screen or metal grid to keep burning material contained.
- Never attempt to burn aerosol cans; heated cans will explode. Flying material may cause injuries and the explosion may scatter burning material into nearby vegetation and cause a wildfire.
- Stay with outdoor fires until they are completely out.
- Keep water and hand tools ready in case your fire should attempt to spread.
Texas Forest Service Safe Debris Burning pdf
Texas Forest Service Safe Equipment Use pdf
Texas Forest Service Prevent Roadside Wildfires pdf
Texas Forest Service Welding and Grinding TFS pdf
Texas Forest Service Outdoor Burning Rules-Regulations-Guidance pdf