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Fire Stopped Just Feet From a House
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Local firefighters spent nearly five hours battling a 24-acre brush fire in the Elm Grove area Monday. The line of burned vegetation pictured above shows how close the fire got to several structures on the property. Photo courtesy of Muldoon Fire Chief Stephen Kelly
Three local fire departments battled a 24-acre brush fire for nearly five hours Monday off Bar Ranch Rd. in the Elm Grove area.
Muldoon Volunteer Fire Department got the call around 1:39 p.m. on Sept. 9. Upon arrival, they found a large brush fire threatening several structures including a home.
Muldoon Fire Chief Stephen Kelly said he wasn’t sure how it started, but it may have spread from an old burn pit. Kelly called for assistance from Flatonia Fire and Rescue, Waelder Volunteer Fire Department and the Texas Forest Service. Troopers from the Texas Department of Public Safety and deputies with the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office responded as well, along with Fayette County EMS and officials from the Texas Department of Emergency Management.
“It ended up being just under 24 acres,” Kelly said. “The fire got up to 20 feet from a house. We were able to save the house and a barn.”
No structures were burned, Kelly said. He said the fire burned through a thick patch of mesquite on the property.
“Luckily the landowner had cleared out the fence line around the pasture and in between,” Kelly said. “That’s the only thing that allowed us to get to the head of fire and save the house.”
Altogether it took 13 firefighters and seven fire trucks to bring the blaze under control.
Firefighters cleared the scene around 6:22 p.m.