Fire departments discuss challenges after series of fires

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – Weather conditions are proving a challenge for fire departments across the Brazos Valley as they continue to combat fires.

Over the weekend, fire departments responded to several large in different parts of the region.

In Calvert, a fire engulfed a home on Sunday. It is unclear what started the fire, but one person died and several vehicles were destroyed. A family member of the couple who lived at the residence told KBTX when it happened, it sounded as if something exploded.

First responders from Calvert, Bremond, Hearne, Franklin, Seale Round Prairie, and Robertson County EMS responded to the scene to help.

The Calvert Fire Department said the fire is under investigation by the State Fire Marshal’s Office.

A fast-moving grass fire on Sunday scorched 35 acres in Madison County, north of North Zultch along Diserens Road between Jinkins Road and FM 1452. Evacuations were temporarily issued as multiple fire departments and agencies worked to contain the fire.

According to the Texas A&M Forest Service, the fire took about five hours to contain. It was just one of several fires across the state that the forest service combated over the weekend.

“We are currently fighting several right now from yesterday that are several hundreds of acres,” Matthew Ford, Texas A&M Forest Service public information officer, said. “We are working with the containment issues as we speak, but that is taking a lot more time with our resources. We are not trying to prioritize, but we are trying to put these out as safely as possible.”

Ford said the Texas A&M Forest Service has its own resources spread across the state along with resources from 36 different states to decrease response time. However, Ford said triple-digit temperatures, low humidity and wind have created concerns about how quickly a fire can change.

“With those challenges as well as with our critically dry vegetation that is playing an additional element where a lot of these fires are being resistant to a lot of our control efforts and what that means, it’s taking us longer to contain these fires in terms of time and additional resources,” Ford said.

On Saturday, the Bryan Fire Department along with several other agencies responded to a grass fire on Old Reliance Road in Brazos County that may have been started by a mechanical failure. Two structures also caught fire.

Bryan Fire Department’s Public Information Officer Chris Lamb said wind played a factor in how fast the fire spread and said it’s a challenge they continue to experience.

“The forecasted spread rate for today is 487 feet per minute,” Lamb said. “To put that in perspective, that’s well over a football field in under a minute, so you can see how fast these fires spread. That’s always a challenge. Our Brazos Valley Volunteer Fire Departments and the Bryan Fire Department and everybody that was out there and involved put a good stop on that but sometimes you’re not that fortunate.”

With high fire danger, Lamb said it’s important to keep in mind that anything that can start a devastating fire, even things people might not think about such as mowing the lawn, dragging chains behind a trailer or a cigarette butt.

“Fire not only takes lives, it takes property. It’s very sad,” Lamb said. “Just to think about something so huge somebody loses their home, or they lose a loved one, or they lose animals or what have you. Just taking those few extra precautions really can make a big difference.”

Every county within the Brazos Valley is currently under a burn ban.