The Montgomery County Fire Marshal’s Office (MCFMO) is handing out citations to those who decide to burn despite the county’s burn ban.

MCFMO assisted departments at two fires that were started in Magnolia on July 13.

The Magnolia Fire Department responded to an out-of-control grass fire on Hall Drive off of FM 1486 around 4 p.m.

Magnolia Fire Chief Gary Vincent said the fire was a result of a small burn pile ignited by the resident. The fire spread to the property owner’s shed, destroying it.

The home owner admitted to starting the fire and MCFMO issued a citation for violation of the burn ban, according to MCFMO.

MCFMO said that the location of the fire was just a few miles from the 5,280-acre fire that occurred in Grimes County earlier this summer.

“This is the type of fire than can very quickly get out of control and rapidly grow in size, much like the Grimes, Walker and Trinity county fires,” MCFMO stated.

Later that evening, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of an extinguished arson fire on Fawn Drive in the Hazy Hallow subdivision, around 8 p.m.

A fire had been started on a small travel trailer.

Investigators from MCFMO responded on the scene to conduct an investigation. A suspect was identified and is accused of setting the fire.

The suspect has a pending charge of First Degree Arson of a Habitation.

Vincent urged all residents to stop burning.

“During these extraordinarily dry times, even these small fires can grow to be a catastrophic fire like the one in Grimes County,” he said.

MCFMO reported that so far 89 citations had been issued for illegal burning.

MCFMO said some areas of the county received a slight rainfall on July 14, but residents are still banned from burning. MCFMO said the drought index for Montgomery County is at an all-time high.

In certain areas the measurements on the Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) have approached 772, classifying the area as “very high fire danger.”

The KDBI ranges from 0 to 800 and is a measure of soil moisture and an indicator of fire potential.

The Texas Forest Service reported that 244 of the 254 counties in Texas have issued a burn ban, including Montgomery, Harris and Waller Counties.

For more information, visit www.mctx.org/fire.

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed