WASHINGTON CO. FIREFIGHTERS RESPONDING TO LARGE FIRE ON FM 50
Multiple Washington County fire departments are at the scene of a large fire that sparked this (Monday) morning.
Firefighters are working in the 2600 block of FM 50, near Airport Road. City of Brenham officials say the fire started after a controlled burn quickly moved past the controlled area.
Many of the county’s fire departments have responded to provide manpower or equipment, or to backfill the Brenham Fire Station while the Brenham Fire Department tends to the fire scene. Law enforcement is also on location.
Firefighting efforts are expected to take most of the day. The public is asked to avoid the area.
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With so many people doing wildlife on several acres of land , no one should trash up 1 acre of land to add to air pollution to burn the wood. People should work together to protect our environment.
This is beyond a waste of our county and city resources and money. The landowner or renter should be held responsible for all cost for activities today. The county should also be held accountable for allowing this to happen at this location and several other locations by this same person. This is the 2nd fire for this person with excess trash piled on their property that they hauled into the property and let accumulate. The other happened a year or so ago on fm 109.
Anyone familiar with this property knows that the business operating out of this location was stockpiling materials for the last few years and that there was no way to do a controlled burn on this property. Texas outdoor burn rules per TCEQ prohibits burning of materials as part of a business, and further states that materials must originate on the premises on which they are burned. I hope that enforcement is carried out and that our heroic fire departments are reimbursed for their efforts.
Where exactly does it state anywhere in TCEQ that you can’t burn materials as part as a business?
Here you go, straight from their website. Most landscape and Tree companies in Washington county have been warned or ticked for burning trash.
4. On-site burning of waste plant growth. Trees, brush, grass, leaves, branch trimmings, or other plant growth may be burned on the property on which the material grew in most attainment counties, as described below. In all cases, the plant growth must be burned by the property owner or any other person authorized by the owner.
Refer to the Texas Administrative Code §111.209.
Sir or ma’am,
This is not county owned land.
30 TAC 111.201–221 only authorizes domestic burning. That’s a “period” at the end of domestic burning, full stop. Commercial is not authorized. Read the code. The pamphlet that you readily dismiss has the code in it as a reference.
The business will pay fines up to $100,000 for damages from the reading. It has some exceptions for county gov but not a commercial business.
Just for you, I’m going to call our assigned TCEQ and report this fire, just in case it hasn’t been. Our TCEQ office is in Austin at 512-339-2929.
https://www.tceq.texas.gov/downloads/publications/rg/outdoor-burning-in-texas-rg-49.pdf
This is a pamphlet with suggestions from TCEQ. Not law.
You must be a fellow business owner who cuts trees and doesn’t want to pay to dump it. If you lived next to the property you would not be supporting the business. What really is a joke about this is the property just went up for sale a month or so ago. I hope the fire department went out and inspected the “control burn”? Before allowing this person to put the neighbors homes in risk.
I would fine the hell out of this person!
What did they think was going to happen???
1 acre 10 feet high with tree cutting they have accumulated for the last 5 years. It was just a accident waiting to burn.
Why would you set a “controlled” fire on such a windy day??
This is another example of how our “leaders” fail their duties. They have neglected creating any sort of ordinances about what people can do…I know, I know…why should government be telling people what they can and can’t do? Well, this is an example of why. You have a piece of property that you keep in good order and someone comes and creates a wasteland next to you. I was part of a volunteer group helping with something one day. On the site were seven trailer houses…all in ill repair…on about an acre of land…the sewage was bubbling out of ground. Where’s the environmental workers…oh yea…we can’t afford enough…gotta buy helicopters and pay EMS director big bucks. Sad state of leadership in this county
A lot of these “volunteer” fire departments were out there helping their neighbors. On there own departments dime, may I add. And where do you get your information from? Washington County doesn’t own any helicopters and doesn’t really pay their employees as much as they often deserve.