The Bell County Commissioners Court extended the countywide burn ban for three more weeks Tuesday as drought conditions remained severe, while also accepting $540,000 in veterans grants and approving nearly $1 million in infrastructure contracts.

The burn ban, set to expire at noon Tuesday, will remain in effect until noon Sept. 21 unless there is enough rain to alter the ban.

County Judge David Blackburn, R-Bell County, said the county's Keetch-Byram Drought Index, a scale used to measure soil moisture and wildfire risk, was reported at 674.