Bee County residents will have another two weeks to burn debris outdoors.

Bee County commissioners decided Monday to wait until their next meeting before considering reimposing a ban on outdoor burning.

Commissioners were following the recommendation of David Morgan, the emergency management coordinator for the city and county.

Commissioners imposed a burn ban in February but it expired two weeks ago.

Although parts of the county are still in an extreme drought — and some parts of it are in an exceptional drought — Morgan said the county is “not doing too badly” in regards to moisture.

Despite recent showers, he said, the Texas Forestry Service is predicting “continued exceptional drought” conditions throughout South Texas.

And the threat of wildfires remains, despite the recent showers, he added.

However, the additional two weeks of burning will help many farmers and ranchers clear land for crops and livestock, he said.

Burning outdoors will still require a burn permit from Morgan’s office or the county fire marshal.

The permits will help prevent area firefighters from being erroneously sent to controlled burns, Morgan explained.

Residents living in the unincorporated areas of the county may continue to burn household trash outdoors between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays as long as it is done so in a barrel covered by a mesh screen.

County leaders did impose a ban on the sale, purchase and possession of fireworks with sticks or missiles with fins in the unincorporated areas of the county over the next several weeks.

The ban will not affect the Independence Day fireworks celebration planned for the evening of July 4, Morgan said.

That’s because the fireworks to be used during the demonstration are of the “shell burst” variety, and not those with sticks or fins. The exploded fragments from shell burst fireworks are extinguished long before they reach ground, unlike bottle rockets or other missiles that often explode after they’ve returned to earth.