News Items

Fires and Fire Safety in La Reata Ranch

La Reata Ranch is a wooded community and with the recent drought and fires in Bastrop County we all have a heightened awareness of fire safety in our community. Even though property owners do have the right to burn on their property, the property owners need to follow common sense and the rules in our CCR's. Our CCR's have the following conditions for burning and in addition we must obey the rules imposed upon us for the County in which we live.

Outdoor burning of any material except brush and limbs is expressly prohibited.

When brush or trees are being burned, the local fire department must be notified.

An adequate supply of water MUST be available on the tract to protect the tract and contiguous tracts to control the fires from damaging adjacent property and the burning must be in compliance with all applicable state and county regulations and standards.

All Fires should be extinguished one hour before sundown and not begun until one hour after dawn. Note: This particular County rule is just one of many that the owners can review by following the links sited below.

As you read above, there are requirements. When a resident is contacting the fire department, the actual method is to call the Bastrop County Sheriff's office non-emergency number (512-303-1080 - ext:0) and give your name and address. They can provide some constraints that exist according to Bastrop County rules. Additionally, they can stipulate if an existing burn ban or red flag warning is in effect, in which case, no fires should exist. The key point is that the Property Owner is responsible to follow the rules and assure the fire is safely maintained.

The requirement for the property owner to have an adequate supply of water takes some common sense. The resident should be aware of the size of their fire and anticipate amount of water that should be available. Even if your lot does not have water, you may be able to work with your neighbors to provide water. Ultimately, it is the owner’s responsibility to determine the method of providing adequate water.

The next requirement is to be in compliance with state and county requirements. To aid you in doing this, you can use the following links for information.

Please observe the burn ban status by clicking the Bastrop County Office of Emergency Management web page.
And "Outdoor Burning in TX’ is found: LINK

The links are provided for information and both are available on the POA website. It is the property owner’s responsibility to read and understand the rules and regulations.

The only intent of the CCR conditions is to assure protection of your property and other properties in the community. If we all work together, we can manage fires without incident.

2012 La Reata Ranch POA Board of Directors

4/14 SPRING POA Meeting

April 14, 2012 10am–12pm

First Baptist Church of Smithville Fellowship Hall 300 Hudgins Street, Smithville, TX

NOTE: Fellowship Hall is across the street from the church

Mark Your Calendars

All property owners are encouraged to attend the SPRING 2012 POA meeting at the First Baptist Church of Smithville Fellowship Hall (which is across the street from the church) on Saturday, April 14 from 10am–12pm.

POA Spring Meeting Agenda

• Committee Updates •Options for Front Entrance • Neighborhood Security • Fire Safety • CCR Changes • Q&A

Update Your Contact Information

If you’ve changed your email or contact information recently please email the Communications Committee at communications@lareataranch.org.

Helpful Information

We wanted to pass on some helpful tips shared with us by our very own, Michele Rowcroft, at our last board meeting.

*In the event of an evacuation, please make sure to turn off the propane gas to your house, should you have a tank on your property. Help keep La Reata safe!

*As many of you noticed, a large amount of ash rained down on us during the Bastrop fires. A contractor pointed out that many of our air-conditioning compressor screens on the outside a/c units have accumulated some ash and dust. Use a garden hose and clean any ash from the outside compressor screens. For best results, spray from top to bottom. This should help keep your unit operating efficiently.

*If you are interested in brushing up on tips for saving lives and property from wildfires, please visit: http://www.firewise.org/

Thank you! Board of Directors La Reata Ranch

Successful Clean-up

We couldn’t be more thrilled with the turnout for this year’s neighborhood clean-up! Our volunteers collected 15-20 bags of trash from our streets and common areas, including the strangest piece of debris, a black bumper near Pony Express and Corral. The clean-up crews must have worked up an appetite because all 48 hot dogs were devoured at the picnic and social gathering Carole organized at the park. With temperatures topping near 100 degrees we are honored to have such a wonderful group of neighbors that braved the heat to help keep our community clean. Thank you all for your help and a special thanks to Carole Thomas for putting this all together!

Outdoor Burning

Friends and Neighbors, several neighbors have noticed folks burning in La Reata Ranch that are not following the Texas Rules for Outdoor Burning.

Please be aware that the State of Texas has very strict rules on what you can burn, when you can burn, and how you burn. Bastrop County Emergency Services District No. 1 has posted the rules for outdoor burning on their website under the links section. You can find a copy of the rules and a frequently asked questions (FAQ) document at this address:

http://www.bastropesd1.com/link

Texas law makes it illegal to burn outdoors with very few exceptions. It is your responsibility to know the law and burn within rules defined in the law. Failure to follow the law may result in tickets, hefty environmental fines, and charges from responding fire departments to extinguish your fire.

In short, burning is allowed only from one hour after sunrise to one hour before sunset (the official times). You are only allowed to burn natural vegetation that grew on your property. You are not allowed to burn trash, waste, building materials, plastics, wire, oil, tires, etc… Anything found in a fire that didn’t grow on your property will likely result in a fine by local and/or state law enforcement agencies. Fines start at $500 and can easily be in the ten’s of thousands of dollars.

The exact language in the law states:

on-site burning of trees, brush, grass, leaves, branch trimmings, or other plant growth, by the owner of the property or any other person authorized by the owner, and when the material is generated only from that property

(3) Burning shall be commenced and conducted only when wind direction and other meteorological conditions are such that smoke and other pollutants will not cause adverse effects to any public road, landing strip, navigable water, or off-site structure containing sensitive receptor(s).

(4) If at any time the burning causes or may tend to cause smoke to blow onto or across a road or highway, it is the responsibility of the person initiating the burn to post flag-persons on affected roads.

(5) Burning must be conducted downwind of or at least 300 feet (90 meters) from any structure containing sensitive receptors located on adjacent properties unless prior written approval is obtained from the adjacent occupant with possessory control.

(6) Burning shall be conducted in compliance with the following meteorological and timing considerations:

(A) The initiation of burning shall commence no earlier than one hour after sunrise. Burning shall be completed on the same day not later than one hour before sunset, and shall be attended by a responsible party at all times during the active burn phase when the fire is progressing. In cases where residual fires and/or smoldering objects continue to emit smoke after this time, such areas shall be extinguished if the smoke from these areas has the potential to create a nuisance or traffic hazard condition. In no case shall the extent of the burn area be allowed to increase after this time.

(B) Burning shall not be commenced when surface wind speed is predicted to be less than six miles per hour (mph) (five knots) or greater than 23 mph (20 knots) during the burn period.

(C) Burning shall not be conducted during periods of actual or predicted persistent low-level atmospheric temperature inversions.

(7) Electrical insulation, treated lumber, plastics, non-wood construction/demolition materials, heavy oils, asphaltic materials, potentially explosive materials, chemical wastes, and items containing natural or synthetic rubber must not be burned.

Thank you for your attention to this matter and for making La Reata Ranch a safe place to live.

David Gahagan Assistant Fire Chief, 3-N-1 Vol. Fire Dept. Commissioner, Bastrop County ESD No. 1 La Reata Resident