Some parts of Texas got a dab of March rainfall - even snow and hail - but with the extremely high winds that March is known for producing, the fire hazard remains high.

The vast majority of Texas' counties remain under Gov. Rick Perry's burn ban.

With conditions still ripe for major fires, landowners with Conservation Reserve Program acres - or other pastures with a lot of grass - should consider firebreaks around their property.

"With all of the rain last year, we had more grass growth than we typically have had on CRP," says Micky Woodard, conservation division chief, Texas Farm Service Agency. "That left us with an abundance of grass that has created high fuel loads all across Texas."

Both FSA and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service officials are urging landowners to take steps to protect their land and homes from wildfire.

"Managing grass fuels is very important right now," says Kent Ferguson, NRCS state rangeland management specialist, Temple, Texas. "Installing firebreaks might be the best thing a landowner can do right now until weather and moisture conditions improve."

Firebreaks are strips of bare land or vegetation that retard fire. The area must be a minimum of 10 feet of bare soil—or planted to an annual green winter crop that will not burn.

NRCS has a job sheet that provides more information about firebreaks and fireguards. It can be viewed online at www.tx.nrcs.usda.gov/news/pubs.html.  

A fireguard is different from a simple firebreak, and a fireguard cannot be constructed during a burn ban. That's because a fireguard is an area at least 100 feet wide that has been burned off under a prescribed burn.

So a fireguard needs to be created under proper supervision as a controlled burn before it is needed.

"The only good thing about a wildfire season is that it makes us think about the need to prepare and do the best we can to protect our land and our homes," Ferguson replaced.