Several grass fires cause air traffic to shut down; 15 fire departments assist in putting out fire
Several grass fires cause air traffic to shut down; 15 fire departments assist in putting out fire
Temple Fire & Rescue said that air traffic was shut down after several small grass fires created a large amount of smoke on Sunday afternoon.
They said that firefighters responded to reports of 10-12 small grass fires at 7720 Airport Rd., near Temple Fire & Rescue Station 8. Additional units responded due to extremely dry vegetation and prevailing south winds.
A short time after working the fire, the incident commander requested assistance from the East Side Task Force, which supplied additional vehicles and firefighters from neighboring fire departments.
Mutual aid was provided by the Belton, Holland, Little River Academy, Moffat, Morgan’s Point, Rogers, Salado, Sparta and Troy fire departments. The Temple Airport Crash Truck also assisted with extinguishing efforts. Two bulldozers from the Texas A&M Forest Service were requested and sent to create a fire break.
Due to the amount of smoke created by the fire, the airport was shut down from 6:40 p.m. to 7:55 p.m.
The fire burned in excess of 20 acres. No injuries were reported.
The Temple Police Department provided traffic control. Temple Fire responded with 10 units and 19 people. The call was dispatched at 5:23 p.m. and the first unit arrived at 5:33 p.m. Temple units remained on scene overnight to monitor the scene and extinguish any hot spots.
With extremely dry conditions, residents are asked to be extremely careful with any outdoor activities which might create a spark such as mowing, using torches or grinding equipment. Discard cigarettes and all smoking materials inside vehicle ashtrays, never outside. A burn ban remains in effect for Bell County.
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