One Vehicle May Have Sparked The Series of Grass Fires on 1-10

Schulenburg and Flatonia firefighters battled a series of grass fires along Interstate 10 Monday afternoon, Nov. 9.

The first call came to the Schulenburg Volunteer Fire Department around 1:10 p.m. reporting a small grass fire on the Interstate just east of town near the Chuck Brown Ford Dealership. Schulenburg firefighters quickly put out that fire. Another fire was reported near the 666 mile marker just west of Engle.

By that time, Flatonia Fire and Rescue had received a call reporting numerous fires on Interstate 10. Flatonia and Schulenburg firefighters teamed up to fight the blaze at the 666 mile marker. That fire crossed the fence and began burning grass on private property before firefighters brought it under control.

Schulenburg firefighters worked until around 4 p.m. putting out the hot spots in their territory. Flatonia Fire and Rescue continued battling four other fires that stretched all the way west to beyond the Gonzales County line. Flatonia Fire and Rescue filially finished up around 6:30 p.m.

It took 11 fire trucks and 24 firefighters from the two departments to finally bring the fires in Fayette County under control. Flatonia Fire Chief John Burleson said some of his firefighters found a wheel that appeared to have broken off from a trailer in one of the burned spots.

“It looked like a trailer wheel had broken off an axle,” Burleson said.

He said a trailer dragging without a wheel could have easily set the series of fires. The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office reported that Gonzales County firefighters battled a series of fires as well that day and that Gonzales County law enforcement had stopped a vehicle that was possibly responsible for setting the fires.

The Record attempted to contact the Gonzales County Sheriff’s Office for details about the stopped vehicle, but they had not responded in time for this publication.