Firefighters battle drought, flames in 700-acre grassfire
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A grassfire consumed 700 acres and took about four hours to contain Friday.
A bearing that went out on a livestock trailer and threw off a wheel and a spark shortly before 3 p.m. set off the blaze near U.S. Highway 59 and Farm-to-Market Road 1686.
The fire highlighted the drought dangers just before the Fourth of July weekend, Battalion Chief Roger Hempel said.
"With the low humidity, high winds and the drought conditions, the fire just overran us," Hempel said.
Fire Marshal Ron Pray warned that with the extreme dry conditions, one spark or a stray firework is all it takes for things to get out of hand.
Fourth of July weekend is usually busy for firefighters, he said.
"We're very dry," he said. "The county hasn't had any rain and all of these things are coming together and are creating some issues if we have any fires that get out of hand this weekend."
On Friday, two maintainers sent from Victoria County Precinct 4 and the property leaser's maintainer helped contain the fire, Hempel said.
Anywhere from 20 to 30 feet of bare dirt and grass were turned over in several areas to help create a barrier to prevent the fire from pushing north-northwest, he said.
Friday was a miserable day for fighting fires, Hempel said. Wind fanned the fast-moving flames. The combination of heat, crackling flames and char gave the feel of the inside of a barbecue pit on the U.S. 59 roadside.
In the empty fields, whirl winds, which Hempel said were caused by thermal columns, picked up soot in tall twists.
Concern over the Victoria Regional Airport and a nearby subdivision about a half mile from the blaze were of concern but were not affected, said Pray.
"It actually burned a different direction so it wasn't in danger," he said.
No homes, structures of injuries were reported, he said.
Firefighters from Victoria, Inez, Telferner, Fordtran, Nursery and Quail Creek and a crew from Precinct 4 road and bridge were dispatched.
Comments
On a serious note...kudos to our area fire fighting personnel. This could have easily been much worse.
July 4, 2009 at 1:45 p.m.Cigarettes too...:-)
July 4, 2009 at 1:44 p.m.Fire crackers should be prohibited altogether
July 4, 2009 at 1:33 p.m.We need more county goverment regulation. The Burn Ban should be extended to include no horse trailers on the road.
July 4, 2009 at 10:01 a.m.nuthin' but sky. sometimes i miss the big vic.
July 4, 2009 at 9:25 a.m.It sure is dry out there!... People should be real careful..
July 4, 2009 at 8:07 a.m.