Hot, Dry Conditions Increase Fire Danger

TYLER — Firefighters are staying busy in East Texas, with several grass fires emerging as hot, dry conditions persist. KETK reports that while things are off to a late start this year, crews do expect to be fighting fires all the way through October. “The rain pushed it back,” says Kelcey Trotty, fire commander at the scene of one fire in Smith County. “We had all that rain for a little while. (It) kept everything nice and wet, and once it shut off we had pretty heavy vegetation growth. Now that it’s all shut off, we still have the vegetation without the water.” Texas is not in a drought but firefighters expect Smith County to consider a burn ban soon, especially if we don’t see more rain. Even if that burn ban doesn’t happen, officials advise East Texans to be extra careful when burning trash or debris. That way, we can avoid flames getting out of control in drier areas.