Grass fire off I-10 burns 12 acres in Gonzales County

A fast moving grass fire near mile marker 653 on Interstate 10 burned 12 acres on Friday, Sept. 26, before it was brought under control seven hours later.

Waelder Volunteer Fire Chief Bobby White said his department was dispatched at 1:32 p.m. Friday after a report of a grass fire on the westbound side of the interstate just before the intersection with U.S. 90. When his crew arrived, they found the blaze had already spread onto nearby property and was moving rapidly.

“Due to the fast-moving conditions, mutual aid was requested from several neighboring departments,” White said. “The Gonzales Fire Department responded with both a UTV and brush trucks, the Flatonia Fire Department provided a brush truck and tender, and the Ottine Fire Department responded with a brush truck. Additional resources were requested from the Texas A&M Forest Service, which deployed a CERT team, multiple brush trucks, and two bulldozers to assist with containment and fire line operations.”

According to the Texas A&M Forest Service, the MM653 fire, as it was named, was finally determined to be 100 percent contained at 8:47 p.m. Friday.

“We would like to extend our sincere thanks to all the agencies who assisted during this incident, including Gonzales County Emergency Management, Gonzales Fire Department, Flatonia Fire Department, Ottine Fire Department, Texas A&M Forest Service, Gonzales County Sheriff’s Office, Texas Highway Patrol, and of course the dedicated members of our own Waelder Volunteer Fire Department team,” White said. “We also thank Gonzales County ESD #1 for providing rehab for all first responders and Gonzales County EMS for their continued support.

“I, Chief White, would also like to personally thank our dispatchers at the Gonzales County Sheriff’s Office for the wonderful job they did — and always do — in ensuring clear communication and coordination throughout this response.”

A second grass fire was reported south of Gonzales and burned about four acres of heavy brush before the Nixon Fire and Rescue was able to locate a dozer from a private landowner to create a fire break, County Emergency Management Director Jimmy Harless told commissioners on Monday, Sept. 29. Harless said the Keetch-Byram Drought Index for Gonzales County on Friday, Sept. 26 was at a very dry 708, meaning the area was in extreme drought condition and fire danger.

Obviously, I'm hoping the court continues to burn ban, but I wanted to ask you about available equipment in case we need it,” Harless said. “Especially over the weekends, we're starting to see some brush stuff where we're usually just getting grass fires. Now we're getting that spreading pretty quickly because we're so dry.”

Harless asked about the availability of water trucks and other equipments from the four commissioner precincts and the possibility of it being “readily available over the weekend for things that need it.”

“We can always call the Texas Forest Service and they’re pretty quick, but they're coming out of Smithville,” Harless said. “They're pretty quick, but it sure is a lot quicker if we have something local. We've had some spot fires along the interstate. This last one Friday got into the brush and cooked pretty good. Waelder did a good job containing it until the dozers got there from the state.”

Harless said he has been “very diligent” when it comes to permitting controlled burns since the county implemented a burn ban on Aug. 28.

“There have been several that I've turned down after discussing it with the owners and then there's a couple that I allowed when it was guaranteed that they were going to have a water truck and people on the side,” Harless said. “It’s more so about the embers forming and watching the wind and that kind of stuff, but as we continue to dry out, it'll be more and more of an issue.”