Grass fires lead to burn ban
A large pasture fire north of Wills Point destroyed approximately 110 acres Oct. 2. Quick work by Wills Point, Edgewood, Point, South Tawakoni and West Tawakoni, as well as Champion EMS, the Red Cross, the Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office and the Van Zandt County Fire Marshal helped to alleviate some of the possible damage, saving 10 homes that were threatened by the blaze.
Van Zandt County Judge Don Kirkpatrick exercised his rights under Chapter 418 of the Texas Government Code, issuing a disaster declaration Oct. 6 with the purpose of “mitigating the hazard posed by wildfires by curtailing the practice of outdoor burning.”
The move comes on the heels of a series of grass fires over the past week that have threatened homes and laid waste to roughly 200 acres in and around the area.
On Sept. 28, multiple departments from Wills Point, Whitton and Elmo were dispatched to battle a grass fire located south of Wills Point between FM-47 and CR 3918. Reports from that incident indicate that the fire was triggered when workers in the area clearing a portion of the land and brush got into old fencing or metal with a piece of equipment, sending off sparks.
Three houses were threatened in that fire, but local departments were able to contain the blaze with no injuries or damages to homes being reported.
Oct. 2 saw two major grass fires threaten homes, including one in Kaufman County and another along Farm-to-Market Road 751 north of Wills Point.
In a post on Facebook addressing the Kaufman County fire, the office of the Wills Point Emergency Coordinator posted: “The State of Texas State Operations Center (SOC) received an initial report of a grass fire in Kaufman County. Grass fire covering approximately 20 acres is located at Farm to Market Road (FM) 429 and Interstate Highway (IH) 20. One lane of IH 20 westbound has been closed. Responding Agencies: Terrell Volunteer Fire Department (VFD), Elmo VFD, Able Springs VFD, College Mound VFD, Kaufman County Sherriff’s Office (SO), Constable Precinct 3, Kaufman County Emergency Management Coordinator (EMC).”
A short time after that incident, departments from Wills Point, Edgewood, Point, South Tawakoni and West Tawakoni, as well as Champion EMS, the Red Cross, the Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office and the Van Zandt County Fire Marshal were dispatched to a grass fire along FM-751 north of Wills Point.