Tom Green County Emergency Responders Deflect Major Fire Damage in Grape Creek

At 11:21 a.m. Thursday morning, the Tom Green County Sheriff’s Office received a call about a controlled fire that got out of control on Sideview and Ledbetter roads, close to Highway 87, said Lt. Christina Lopez, public information officer for the Tom Green County Sheriff's Department.

According to an official on scene with the Sheriff’s Office, a resident in a nearby house had a controlled fire burning when the wind picked up and sparks flew into a nearby field on Sideview and burned east towards Ledbetter Road close to the highway and about 50 feet behind Concho Propane. The fire spread rapidly within 10 minutes because the grass in the area remains brown and dry, conditions ripe for a fire.

“It got across the fence, and just started to burn from there,” the official said. Tuesday, the Tom Green County Commissioners' Court lifted the county-wide burn ban through Sunday.

(Below maps the area of the fire)

Lopez and the official both said if it hadn’t been for the quick reaction of two Sheriff deputies and the Grape Creek, Water Valley and Carlsbad Volunteer Firefighters, things could have been much worse.

“It was getting kind of bad really quick,” she stated.

Not only did TGCSO deputies go home to home and evacuate residents in the area because of the close proximity to Concho Propane, but also Deputies Hiers and Schmiedekamp, while waiting for volunteer firefighters to arrive on scene, grabbed a water hose and extinguished the fire threatening one of the homes in the area.

“They actually saved the structure of one of the trailer houses,” Lopez added.

Area residents in proximity of the fire were sent to Grape Creek Baptist Church. The official on scene said the fire was actually 15 feet from one woman’s home and about 30 feet from another; however, volunteer firefighters “hit Ledbetter Road and contained it before it got to the [trailer] park.”  

By 11:55 a.m., firefighters had the fire contained, but they had to hit all the hotspots in the area, Lopez added. By 12:15 p.m., officials recalled the evacuation and residents returned to their homes. No injuries were reported and no structures damaged, said Lopez and the official on scene.

Additionally, no citations will be issued because of the approval to lift the burn ban this week.

Overall, about 200 to 300 yards of grass in the field and a few fence posts received the brunt of the damage thanks to the quick response. Being that the fire was so close to the residential area and Concho Propane, the outcome could have been different.

“It was a close call,” the official said. “We had a good response by volunteers, and their quick response kept it from spreading further.

Chelsea Reinhard and John Basquez contributed to this story.