A family’s attempt to clear land between Daisetta and Raywood sparked a 30-acre grass fire on Friday, Nov. 14, according to Liberty County Fire Marshal Nathan Green.
“We have a family out here that bought three tracts of land, a total of 61–62 acres,” Green said. “The son, father and father-in-law were out here this weekend doing their thing, clearing the land and getting ready to move out here from the big city.”
Green said the fire began while the men were burning stumps inside a 55-gallon drum on the newly purchased property off FM 770, just south of FM 160.
“They were trying to burn some stumps in a barrel, thinking it would be okay. They claimed they didn’t know there was a burn ban,” he said. “The wind picked up, blew the embers out of the barrel and into the grass, and it got away from them in a matter of seconds. They had no way of keeping up with it. Everything is just too dry.”
He added that the family believed they were taking precautions, but conditions were too dangerous for any type of outdoor burning.
“This was just a simple little 55-gallon drum and they were trying to do it a safe way in a barrel,” Green said. “But, like I said, the wind blew, it changed on them and blew the embers out of the barrel. They couldn’t get to it fast enough.”
Firefighters from four counties responded to the blaze, along with the Texas Forest Service, which created a fire line as flames began to threaten nearby trees and a couple of homes. The fire was contained before any structures were lost, and no injuries were reported.
The property owners received citations for violating the burn ban. Green said they were fortunate the situation wasn’t worse.
The minimum fine for illegal outdoor burning starts at $500. “A new law has been added in the last couple of years that says that if you get a citation for outdoor burning and the judge finds you guilty, it doesn’t matter how much the fine is, you can be subject up to 100 hours of community service in addition to the fine for each charge,” Green said.
If a fire results in the loss of another person’s structure or life, charges can escalate to arson.
Green emphasized that drought conditions across the county are creating extreme wildfire risk. The Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) for Liberty County is currently 628. The index tops out at 800, and drought conditions begin at 600.
“The driest spot in Liberty County is 760 and the wettest point in Liberty County right now is 580. That is very high,” Green said. “The entire state has not had a major reduction in the KBDI index in the last six weeks.”
He urged residents to avoid all outdoor burning until conditions improve.
“We are still under a burn ban in Liberty County. I cannot stress enough that people should not be setting fires of any kind at this time,” Green said.