North Texas officials warn about hot, dry conditions causing fires
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - Fort Worth fire officials are asking people to think carefully about using fireworks.
"I asked people to be responsible and respectful with them and uh, I think this is exactly the reason why," Fort Worth Fire Chief Jim Davis said.
This comes after Fort Worth's holiday fireworks show started several grass fires Monday night.
"During the course of the first six or seven minutes, it became very obvious that the grass fires that were occurring started developing at a much fast pace than the organization who was responsible for the shoot could put it out," Davis said.
278 fires were reported to the city of Fort Worth between Monday and Tuesday afternoon. Fort Worth isn't the only city in the area dealing with grass fires.
"We did see a few fireworks displays by individuals that resulted in some grass fires," Parker County Fire Marshal and Emergency Management Coordinator Sean Hughes said.
Governor Greg Abbott granted a fireworks ban for several areas like Parker and Johnson counties.
The Parker County Fire Marshal said over the holiday weekend they had over 800 calls and complaints about fireworks. About 15 of those fireworks calls started grass fires.
Since July 1, Johnson County had 64 grass fires - 14 of them were started by fireworks.
The City of Dallas had 258 calls about grass fires. These areas noted the extreme hot and dry conditions contributing to those incidents.
"Some people say 'well we're passed July 4th, we can set them off,' no. But it's also reminding people to be aware of throwing cigarettes butts out the window, it's about if you're towing a trailer making sure the chains aren't dragging along," Hughes said.
Hughes is reminding people that any kind of spark can create a fire, especially during this time.
"We're particularly dry in North Texas, that's why we requested and were granted the prohibition of fireworks by the Governor," Hughes said.
Hughes said he did meet a lot of people who said they were not aware of the fireworks ban. The ban is in effect until Sept. 6th, in which they hope conditions will be better by then.
