Over twenty fire department s responded Monday afternoon to a wildfire in north Walker County. The fire started after a trailer of hay being pulled down 980 had a mechanical failure which caused the tires to catch fire. This then spread to the load of hay which ignited the grass on the side of the road. From there conditions were just right, low humidity, winds and dry fuel to increase the blaze quickly. Over 700 acres was burned by late Monday night.
As crews responded to the staging point at the Northside Baptist Church on FM 980 volunteers poured in with snacks and water for the firefighters. Lone Star Task Force, a search and rescue team from Conroe transported a truck load of bottled water to the scene.
Helicopters found any pond or pool possible for water and dropped water at many locations along the fire with extreme precision. In one instance a fire broke loose next to the command post. Before crews could get to it , two helicopters made drops on it. One of those drops included getting the fire and a Houston news photographer.
As dark set in and air support was lost crews went to work on a section of the fire as it neared a subdivision and the Trinity River Authority Water Plant. With an all out effort they stopped it.
Tuesday morning some crews remain including the Texas Forest Service as they hit spot fires.
Texas Forest Service damage assessment teams are in place looking at a damage total as some structures were damaged.
The dry weather continues for the next few days as rain is forecast for Thursday. During this time is is likely fire departments will be once again be running multiple fires.