East Texas fire departments taking extra precautions

HENDERSON COUNTY – Our news partner, KETK, reports that several counties across East Texas are seeing a higher risk of fires due to recent high winds and dry weather.

“Some of this is from people either just burning trash or trying to do controlled burns that get out of control with the current wind conditions that we’re experiencing,” South Van Zandt Volunteer Fire Department Deputy Chief David Birdsong said. He says the high call numbers are already putting a strain on their crews and resources.

“We’re doing what’s called emergency staffing. What that means is we have individuals that are willing to come in and staff the stations and be ready at a moment’s notice.”

In Henderson County, firefighters have been battling a high number of fires all week, warning that this weather can make small fires turn dangerous quickly.

“We’ve had a lot of fires. Forestry services they worked 25 fires yesterday,” Henderson County Fire Marshal Laura Good said. “The fires are getting bigger before we get there because they’re being wind driven,” Good said.

The bigger the fire, the more water it takes to contain it. That’s something both Henderson and Van Zandt counties are concerned about due to their lack of easy water access.

“We have to have tankers bring water to the location or at least close enough,” Good said.

Many of the recent fires they’ve responded to started as controlled burns that got out of hand. This is requiring departments to staff up their station for faster response times when the call comes in.

“If it’s blowing hard enough to blow something out of your hand then you should not be burning anything outside,” Good said.

They want residents to know that they’re taking precautions and are asking everyone else to do the same.