Friday, May 17, 2024
The Gatesville Fire Department battled two wildfires in Coryell County this week.
Gatesville fire and police crews responded to a grass fire that started on Tuesday around 1 p.m. at the 400 block of State School Road.
Brad Hunt, Gatesville Police Department’s Chief of Police, said that the fire started in a hay field east of Cornerstone Church. As of Wednesday morning, the fire is 95% contained, but the fire department is still monitoring some hot spots in the area.
“There are some brush piles and hay bales back behind the church that are still a concern,” he said.
Gatesville Fire Department’s Fire Chief Billy Vaden said the origin of the fire was caused by a hay cutter, most likely from workers on the property located behind the church.
The fire burned about 60 acres and came within feet of at least one house. No homes or buildings were affected. Law enforcement evacuated about 30 homes in the area near the fire.
Code Red Emergency Notifications were sent out to residents in the area to warn about evacuations and when they could return home.
“The citizens were great as well to understand the situation and do what we asked them to do,” Hunt said.
Authorities closed off both directions of State School Road to contain the fire. If it had crossed State School Road, Hunt said the fire could have gone west toward Stillhouse Road, home of Coryell County’s Wastewater Treatment Plant and animal shelter.
“It could have been a whole lot worse,” he said.
Several first responders arrived at the peak of the fire to help with evacuations, including the Coryell County Sheriff's Department, Texas Parks and Wildlife Game Wardens and the Gatesville ISD Police Department.
“I can’t talk enough about how great the response was between the law enforcement agencies that helped us and the fire departments that came,” Hunt said.
Gatesville ISD put out an alert Tuesday that they planned to keep students who normally ride the bus into that area until the fire is contained.
The Cornerstone fire follows the Rocky J fire along FM-116 and CR 147, another wildfire in Coryell County that has burned around 150 acres. The Gatesville Fire Department responded to the fire on Sunday morning. Vaden said the fire is 70% contained as of Wednesday morning.
According to the Coryell County Sherrif’s Office, the fire reignited on Tuesday afternoon and began spreading west. They urge the public to avoid any unnecessary travel to this area. Vaden said the Texas A&M Forest Service is currently on the ground monitoring the fire.
Following a record heat wave in Central Texas, Coryell County has been under a heat advisory and elevated wildfire threat. In July, Coryell County Judge Roger Miller issued a burn ban that prohibits outdoor burning activities.
“Everybody needs to be extremely careful right now,” Vaden said.
