WASHINGTON CO. FIREFIGHTERS TACKLE GRASS FIRES SATURDAY

  

Several Washington County fire departments battled a pair of grass fires Saturday afternoon.

The Rocky Creek Volunteer Fire Department, with mutual aid from the Gay Hill Volunteer Fire Department, responded to a grass fire at around 3:30 p.m. near the entrance to Yegua Creek Park off FM 1948.  Firefighters found a blaze moving quickly into heavy brush.

Units requested additional manpower and equipment, and received aid from the Chappell Hill Volunteer Fire Department and an additional wildland-specific chainsaw team from Meyersville.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office and Citizens on Patrol provided traffic control, as FM 1948 needed to be shut down for a short time.  The Washington County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) provided hydration supplies for firefighters, while EMS provided a drone for a short time to track the path of the fire and give threat assessment.

The Texas A&M Forest Service provided bulldozers to put containment lines around the fire due to the thick and heavy vegetation.  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers provided access to their property—as the fire was burning on Corps land—and coordinated the possibility of needing to evacuate the park if the fire jumped containment lines.

Units were able to contain the fire at 11.34 acres.  No evacuations were needed, no injuries were reported, and there was no loss of improved infrastructure.  Firefighters cleared the scene at 10 p.m.

Another grass fire was reported at 3:30 p.m. in the area of FM 1697 and FM 2780, just north of Burton.  The Burton Volunteer Fire Department, with mutual aid from the Berlin Volunteer Fire Department, arrived on scene to find a small fire burning in the roadside.  Units cleared the scene quickly thereafter, after keeping the fire to less than a 0.25 acre.