Bent Creek
Sixty-acre Fire Burns Next Door to Bandera County Line
Tag:apparatus instrument,next door,Bandera County line,Sixty-acre fire
From:http://www.apparatus-instrument.com/
A 60-acre fire just neighboring Bandera County called for nine volunteer fire departments and the Texas Forest Service this weekend, a brusque reminder that drought conditions still exist in the Hill Country, despite the heavy rains that have recently battered the Texas coast.
According to Bandera County Fire Marshal Ralph Dresser, the fire, which consumed multiple properties, started this past Sunday at the end of Oil Well Road in Castle Lake, about one mile out of Bandera County into Kerr. Fire fighters were on scene at 3:30 p.m. until around 9 p.m.
Rick Martin from the Pipe Creek VFD served as incident commander on the south end of the fire; Shane Keese from the Medina VFD served as incident commander on the north end. Dresser said that although the glowing embers, easily visible in the dark of night, appeared to be under control, two trucks from the Castle Lake Volunteer Fire Dept. stayed on sight throughout the night as a precaution.
“That’s important, because people who live in the area get nervous and they start thinking about what’s happened in California,” Dresser said. “They have good reason. There’s no reason why it couldn’t happen here.”
Also assisting were volunteer firefighters from Lake Shores, Tarpley, Bandera, Medina Lake, Center Point and Turtle Creek. The Texas Forest Service sent out one heavy helicopter and one large four-engine tanker for fire suppression, as well as two small aircrafts used for fire spotting. The terrain was rough and hilly, Dresser said, which made it difficult to patrol the fire’s progress by foot.
The fire reportedly started when a renter on one of the affected properties lit a fire in a burn barrel with an aluminum wire mesh cover. The heat of the fire bent the mesh, allowing embers to escape into 10-15 mph winds.
Dresser said the fire was left unattended and the man, who suffered second and third-degree burns on his hands and legs, failed to wet down the soil surrounding the burn barrel. He was treated by one of the two Bandera County EMS units that also arrived on scene.
The fire appeared to be extinguished by 7:15 a.m. the following morning, but Dresser said that the nighttime high relative humidity and low winds could be deceiving. He cautioned that once the midday sun breaks up the cloud cover and wind speeds pick up, the embers could reignite. As of press time, the Texas Forest Service was scheduled to fly over the site at 1 p.m. Monday afternoon, Aug. 11, to determine whether more fire retardant needed to be dropped.
“Our grass and cedar trees are still extremely flammable,” Dresser said, who gave accolades to the emergency workers who brought the situation under control. “It’s teamwork. They all do a great job.”
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Tag:apparatus instrument,next door,Bandera County line,Sixty-acre fire
From:http://www.apparatus-instrument.com/
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