Newton County Judge Kenneth Weeks signed an order on Tuesday morning officially enacting a burn ban. Newton County joins Jasper, Sabine, Tyler, Angelina, Hardin, Jefferson, and Orange Counties in East Texas along with Vernon and Beauregard Parishes in West Louisiana in outlawing all outdoor burning in an attempt to reduce forest fires. The action comes following an outbreak of fires over the weekend and also on Monday where several homes and other structures were threatened by so called “Controlled Burns” that got out of control. The Texas Forest Service, local firemen and others say the moisture levels in vegetation is extremely low, resulting in very high fire danger.