It’s almost impossible to enter the heart of summer in Northeast Texas without nightmares of 2011.

That year, wildfires scorched more than 50,000 acres of land in the region, destroyed dozens of homes and killed two Gladewater residents — a mother and her toddler daughter.

No one wants that type of tragedy and destruction again. So it’s imperative residents heed recent burn bans enacted by area counties.

Smith County is among a long list of Texas counties that have implemented burn bans, with Texas A&M Forest Service showing 178 out of 254 counties having bans as of Thursday.

A burn ban means residents can’t burn anything outdoors, with the only exception cooking food, officials said.

On Wednesday — just over a week since the ban was issued — Smith County Fire Marshal Paul Findley sent out a plea to residents reminding them to use extreme caution and that all outdoor burning was prohibited.

“While some incidents have been accidental, we continue to respond to calls involving violations to the burn ban. Regardless of cause, any fire occurring during the current weather conditions can quickly escalate,” Findley said.

It’s a problem other counties are seeing too. In Gregg County, fire marshal Mark Moore said, “… people still want to burn even with this wind blowing, and they think it’s gonna be safe and it’s not — it’s just not.”

Officials use the Keetch-Byram Drought Index to determine forest fire potential. It ranges from 0 to 800, where a score of 0 represents no moisture depletion and of 800 represents “absolutely dry conditions,” according to Texas A&M Forest Service.

Smith County’s average continues to rise, averaging 716 as of Friday. Those index numbers were even higher in neighboring Cherokee (748) and Rusk (732) counties, both of which previously implemented their own burn bans.

The Texas A&M Forest Service offers these fire safety tips:

Avoid parking or driving in grass when possible;

Stay on designated roads and trails;

Park on asphalt when parking on the side of the road;

Keep a water source near at all times (hose, bucket or wet rags) near campfires;

Never leave a grill unattended as wind gusts may blow embers into dry vegetation, potentially starting a fire;

Ensure grills are kept clean of excess grease to prevent flare-ups;

Place grills in an open space away from tall or dry grass, shrubs, woodpiles or other flammable materials as well as underneath a tree or on a wooden patio deck; and

After grilling is finished, allow time for the coals to completely cool.

Those tips really can be boiled down to this: Use care and common sense when dealing with open flames outdoors.

It might be another hot, dry summer in Northeast Texas, but it doesn’t have a tragic one.