Friday, April 26, 2024
In 2022, Texas experienced one of the most severe wildfire seasons in more than a decade. The Texas A&M Forest Service and local fire departments responded to more than 11,000 wildfires across the state, covering 645,000 acres.
Locally, in 2022, Coryell County experienced 248 grass and brush fires. Total responses by all nine county fire departments totaled 1,019 in unincorporated Coryell County. July was the busiest month with 168 total calls. The Holley Gun Range fire totaled 98 acres and took four days to completely extinguish due to the cedar tree coverage. Texas Forest Service provided air support and manpower for this fire. The other stubborn fire accrued in early July in 9300 block of FM 107 in heavy thicket of Cedar trees. Covering only about 40 acres it took 3 days to suppress the fire.
June 24 had a 30-acre grass fire on CR 100. July 14 a 40-acre fire on CR 139. Most of the other fires in Coryell County were 20 acres or less. There were many 5- to 10-acre fires. The fire on Fort Hood that threatened the Flat community burned only a small area off of Ft Hood. It did destroy many fences on the border. Fort Hood has been putting a wide, clean barrier between Fort Hood and private property and have done many control burns, cleaning up problem areas.
In March multi-county departments assisted Mills County with a 3,000-acre fire. Again in late March we assisted Bell County with a stubborn 150-acre fire close to county line.
Many of the grass fires were started by welding and grinding and trash burning. The year 2022 took a heavy toll on fire department budgets, and the main reason was the cost of diesel. At the Gatesville Fire Department we spent $34,000 in fuel compared to $14,000 the previous year. All fire departments experienced a large increase in fuel costs. With no way to acquire extra funds everyone had to defer equipment upgrades and purchases.
