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Residents around mulch fire voice concerns
People living around the massive debris from a mulch fire in the Spring Branch area let their voices be heard at a packed town hall meeting. FOX 26's Randy Wallace was at the meeting and has more from the northwest side.
HOUSTON - Houston District A City Councilmember Amy Peck told the crowd Thursday night this fire was not planned.
While the cause remains a mystery, she says someone needs to be held accountable.
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"Thousands of trees have been sitting there for months and months on end in a drought. What did we expect to happen in this scenario?" she said. "Someone needs to be held responsible for all of those trees sitting there for months on end."
It's called a wildland urban interface fire, and it's in a 50-acre field under development. Four to five acres have burned with flames reaching 30 feet high in some areas.
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Houston Fire Chief Sam Peña says they are two thirds of the way getting it extinguished. He says it is contained, and the Health Department says air quality in the area is safe.
The fire has burned since Saturday and could continue for several more days.
Residents like Jami Smith told us she wanted to hear more about the EPA issues at the meeting.
"I feel like this warrants that more," she said.
Peña says calls in the area regarding breathing issues have not gone up,
But when someone said raise your hand if you had breathing issues, more people than not put their hands up.