Hay bales and equipment blamed for rash of latest fires
By Kyle Mooty
LPR Editor
A mobile home, an uninhabitable home, a couple of barns, equipment, several bales of hay, and dozens of acres of grassland have been taken by a series of fires around Caldwell County within the last week.
Many different agencies have been fighting the various fires, according to Caldwell County Emergency Management Chief Hector Rangel.
The burn ban has been on for the county for a while and Rangel is asking the community to be aware of what they are doing.
“Rain is predicted for Thursday, but we won’t get any significant rain until we get something out of the Gulf,” Rangel said. “The fire danger is extremely high right now.”
Hay bales have also been blamed for catching fire on a trailer as well as trailers catching some of the bales on fire.
On Monday, there was a fire that burned 8 acres off St. John’s Road. We think it was human error. There were three structures, two barns and one uninhabitable house as well as two gravel trucks that burned.
On Monday, there was a grass fire on Reata Ranch Road near Dale. It was only about 300 x 300 feet.
A McMahan fire off FM 3158 burned 15 acres. That one was believed to have been started by a hay baler.
Last week, Rangel said a Lockhart fire consumed 8 acres of land, including 3 structures and 2 gravel haulers.
A farmer with bales of hay on his trailer had some of them catch on fire near the intersection of SH 130 and SH 142. Emergency management chief Hector Rangel believes there were six more bales involved.
“Sometimes the farmer will bale the hay when they are still moist inside, and the hay is very compressed,” Rangel said.
“Such a bale will combust in extreme heat conditions. While these bales were on the trailer, it did catch a field on fire and although it was put out quickly, it still smoldered for a couple of days and had to be watched.”
A fire on Bee Creek Road and 11385 FM 20 east burned 10 acres and two structures.
Also, a fire at 105 Walnut Creek Lane in Dale completely destroyed a mobile home.
