Liberty Rd. Grass Fire

This is another story that I wrote for my local weekly paper. Click here for the images.

July 24, 2006 - Five Grayson County Volunteer fire departments battled a large grass fire northwest of Gordonville along Liberty Road Sunday afternoon. Witnesses reported seeing smoke around 3 p.m. High winds and hot conditions quickly spread the fire through the dry grass.

Fire officials said that the fire burned approximately 50 acres and threatened two homes. It also destroyed two out-buildings, however no one was injured.

The fire jumped Pine Loop Road but firefighters worked quickly in order to protect the residences there.

Officials said that the fire began when one of the property owners was mowing and his tractor caught fire.

Sherwood Shores Fire Department was the first to receive the call and they were quickly joined by the Collinsville, Gordonville, Sadler and Whitesboro fire departments.

It took fire fighters several hours to get control of the blaze.

Donnie Peel, Assistant Fire Chief at Gordonville, said that even though this was a significant grass fire, the total number for this season has been down. Peel sighted the fire in Callisburg during late December 2005 as the reason for this decline.

“People are just being safer,” said Peel.