Published: April 18, 2007 10:11 am      

Fire causes nearly half-million dollars damage to equipment

POSSUM KINGDOM – Smoke rising Sunday evening from the Hills Above Possum Kingdom Lake wasn’t a brush pile burning; it was almost a half-million dollars’ worth of equipment.

Officials reported that the first call came in from a salesman who saw smoke in an area that was supposed to be blocked off from the public. The first call came in at approximately 4:57 p.m. for assistance.

“It’d been burning for a while before we got the call,” commented Ronnie Ranft, Possum Kingdom East Volunteer Fire Department chief. “It had all but almost extinguished itself by the time we got there.”

Fire officials described the scene as several pieces of equipment clustered together off the side of a private road. Mineral Wells Volunteer Fire Department Chief Steve Perdue said it was a 100 percent loss on the vehicles, which included a four-door pickup, Gooseneck trailer, Polaris Ranger and two other machines used in land clearing.

The estimated damage of the equipment totaled $450,000, he said. The start of the fire is still under investigation.

A manager for the development told the Index that the equipment belonged to a subcontractor who does lot clearing and he has been notified.