Fire Weather Watch in Houston area due to hot, dry conditions
HOUSTON - A fire weather watch was issued for much of the Houston area on Wednesday because of dry, hot air and weeks of little to no rainfall. Grass across Southeast Texas has now turned yellow-brownish in color.
"It’s really no longer grass, it’s just fuel," said Spring Firefighter Austin Mooney. "It’s fuel that burns very quickly and very hot and moves very quickly. You can see how light brown the grass is. Anything from car exhaust to a diesel truck will catch it on fire."
On Wednesday, FOX 26 spent several hours with Spring Fire Department Station 70. According to Mooney, they’ve been busy in recent weeks responding to grass fires.
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"All of the fire departments in the area are extremely busy responding to calls that are fire related," said Mooney. "They’re all kind of different, but most of them are pretty preventable. It’s a good variety, probably between three and 10 a day"
Within just 30 minutes during our day with Spring Fire Station 70, the received a call about a grass fire. The fire was relatively small, but close to Robert Bryant’s home.
"I just got a phone call that there was a fire over here," said Bryant. "I got here and the firetrucks had it out. They had my dog out and everything. That’s what I was worried about."
Several local Houston area fire departments have crews helping fight wildfires across Texas. Brent Silvey, a Captain with the Spring Fire Department, is currently working in North Texas. Thousands of acres of land have burned statewide in recent weeks.
"It’s a cool experience to be able to travel across the state and help out people that need the help," said Capt. Silvey. "[Right now], we’re building what’s called a containment line. So we have hand crews, with hand tools, shovels, and bulldozers building a containment line. Ensuring there’s separation between the hot black area and unburned fuels like grass."
More hot and try days are ahead across Texas. If needed, area firefighters are prepared to answer the call.
"Keep your hot cars away from the grass and don’t throw cigarettes out the window," said Mooney.