Published: June 17, 2008 09:00 am         

Fire concerns rise after three weekend blazes

By Lacie Morrison
lmorrison@mineralwellsindex.com

PALO PINTO COUNTY – Area firefighters combated more than just the summer heat over the weekend with three grassfires across the county and a multi-vehicle fire in Mineral Wells.

The Lone Camp Volunteer Fire Department found themselves fighting a fire Sunday that consumed approximately 80 acres up the side of a hill. The fire was off Lake Creek Road near Farm-to-Market Road 919.

“It appeared to have started from some burn piles that’d burned down on Thursday afternoon,” said LCVFD Chief Charlie Sims. He said the wind “kicked up embers” from the burn piles, carrying them into grass which proceeded to ignite trees and travel up the hill.

Sims reported firefighters from Palo Pinto, Gordon and Mineral Wells assisted them. Firefighters were on the scene at 9 a.m. Sunday until about 10 p.m.

At 6 p.m. Sunday, Lone Camp volunteers were summoned to Dunn Drive on Palo Pinto Lake for a grassfire that was ignited by fireworks.

According to Sims, “the person who called it in heard fireworks and on his way to work, saw a fire.”

He calculated the fire consumed 4 acres of grass; firefighters from Gordon and Lake Palo Pinto also responded to the scene.

“We’re real dry,” he remarked. “ It’s been hot [and] real windy but the humidity’s not been really low. It’s just hot and dry and the grass is dead.”

In the northwest corner of State Highway 337 and U.S. Highway 180 West, an unattended trash pile ignited another grassfire. A fire official credited a good Samaritan for helping control the blaze.

“A guy was burning a trash pile and walked away,” said Steve Perdue, Mineral Wells Volunteer Fire Department chief. “It blew into the grass [and] burned about an acre.”

He speculated the fire could’ve been worse if not for the efforts of a stranger.

“A guy was driving down [Hwy.] 337 with a front-end loader on a trailer,” Perdue explained. “He stopped and unloaded it and put a fire line around [the fire]. … Then he loaded it back up and was gone.”

Like Sims, Perdue noted the current conditions of Palo Pinto County.

“It’s getting dry out there,” he remarked. “It’s not really powder-torch dry but if it doesn’t rain by the fourth of July …”

According to the National Weather Service, the forecast this week indicates a chance of thunderstorms today and tomorrow. The Texas Forest Service indicated Palo Pinto County as in low to moderate fire danger on Monday’s forecast map.

Recent fires haven’t all consumed vegetation as a car fire damaged three other vehicles Saturday afternoon in the parking lot of Corrections Corporation of America in the 700 block of Heintzelman Road.

According to Mineral Wells dispatch logs, the call was received at 1:42 p.m. in reference to a vehicle fire.

A female driver reported her car was blowing hot air and she turned the 2007 Chrysler Sebring off. She turned the vehicle back on but the vehicle continued to blow hot air from the vents, fire officials reported.

When the woman exited the vehicle, she reportedly noticed smoke coming from the hood of the car. Firefighters were called but the fire damaged three other vehicles. The total damage was calculated at more than $40,000.

Firefighters used 500 gallons to extinguish the fire and cleared the scene at 3:20 p.m.