Fires Continue to Ravage Parched Fayette County

The Fayette County Record

La Grange Volunteer Fire Department put out a small grass fire on Egypt Rd. near Plum onMonday, Aug. 1.The call came in shortly after 3 p.m. Fire Chief Frank Menefee said workers were cutting hay on the property. He said the cutter made a couple of passes in the field without a problem. When the tractor circled around for another pass, the operator noticed apatch of grass on fire.La Grange VFD responded with a grass truck, tanker and command vehicle, along with five firefighters. They quickly brought the fire under control. Roughly an acre of grass burned. There were no injuries or major damages. Menefee urged farmers to practice caution when cutting hay in these hot and dryconditions.On Tuesday, Aug. 2, La Grange VFD received another grass fire call on SH 159 near First Stop Last Stop Antiques. Workers at the property were welding on a fence and accidentally ignited a small patch of grass. They called 911 began fighting it with a water hose. They were able to extinguish the fire before firefighters arrived.

Also on Tuesday, Flatonia Fire and Rescue responded to a grass fire in the 1000 block of Old Hallettsville Rd. The call came in around 2:30 p.m. The Flatonia firefighters called for mutual aid from the Schulenburg Volunteer Fire Department. The fire started when an overhead electrical line broke and touched another line, showering sparks down that ignited the grass. The fire burned about seven acres. The last firefighters cleared thescene around 5:40 p.m.