GROVETON — A Thursday brush fire could have grown to a catastrophe without the response from the county’s volunteer fire departments.
Instead, the blaze was contained at 290 acres.
Groveton VFD Chief Glenn Hammond said that if it hadn’t been for the fire suppression aircraft he requested, the fire would have gotten larger, since the area was unpopulated homestead land.
Hammond said the Air resources dropped 24,800 gallons of water, with the Super Scoopers grabbing water from Lake Livingston and helicopters dipped out of private ponds.
Still, the department, along with other county fire departments and the Forest Service, responded with 12 brush trucks, two tankers and four bulldozers.
“We do appreciate all of the surrounding volunteer fire departments coming in to help with this fire and the Texas A&M Forest Service,” he said.
While the actual cause has yet to be determined, Hammond said he believed the blaze to be caused hunters in the area.
•A Groveton resident accidently caught in a fire on Oct. 15 has passed.
Frank Williams, 78, died on Oct. 19. The cause of death has not yet been reported.
Hammond said GVFD was sent to a brushfire on Highway 94 East, and when they arrived, they found a burn victim. LifeFlight was called in to transport.
Hammond said that the small fire was an accident; Williams was cleaning up property and may have had a container of gas. He tripped, was covered in gas, and the blaze broke out.
Hammond said it was Williams that called 911.
•Friday VFD, along with help from Groveton, battled a fire in a hay field that broke out Saturday, likely caused by a hay bailer catching on fire.
•On Oct. 21, GVFD extinguished a fire started by a downed power line on FM 2262.
•The Apple Springs VFD, along with GVFD, fought a fire on FM 2262 and Womack Road.
