Eight local fire departments dispatched to battle massive brush fire south of Kerrville

KERRVILLE, Texas — Several Kerr and Bandera County Fire Departments battled and defeated a brush fire that was sweeping through canyons of a property south of Kerrville Thursday afternoon.

Fire crews were toned out at approximately 12:29 PM, according to Turtle Creek Volunteer Fire Department Fire Chief, Wes Gordon.

A combination of high winds and low humidity cause the fire to spread so fast.

The fire grew quickly and within minutes had spread to over 100 acres. According to Chief Gordon, the property owner estimated that the blaze affected between 150 and 200 acres of land, located on the 400 block of Fall Creek Road.

Photo Credit: Mike Taylor

All in all, eight fire departments responded to the blaze, including the Turtle Creek Volunteer Fire Department, Center Point Volunteer Fire Department, Kerrville Fire Department, Ingram Volunteer Fire Department, Tierra Linda Volunteer Fire Department, Mountain Home Volunteer Fire Department, Medina Volunteer Fire Department, Castle Lake Volunteer Fire Department, and The Texas Forest Service.

Kerr County Sheriff, Larry Leitha, and Emergency Coordinator, Dub Thomas, were on scene for most of the day along with several Kerr County Sheriff Office Deputies.

The fire has been contained and as of 5:45 PM, crews were working on putting any remaining hotspots out.

Hill Country Septic brought out portable toilets to the scene and a local tire company stepped up to help as well.

“Make sure you mention Miguel Leugim Tire Shop in your article,” stated Turtle Creek Volunteer Fire Chief, Wes Gordon. At one point while the fire departments were working to extinguish the fire, one fire vehicle sustained a blowout due to the rocky terrain.

There is no information as to the cause of this fire at this time.

Thursday’s events set a very real example regarding why it’s so important that our local volunteer fire stations receive adequate funding.

Several local volunteer fire departments have lost their county funding recently, due to a decision by the county judge and commissioners and are in the process of working to establish Emergency Service Districts.

To make matters worse, COVID-19 has kept several local volunteer fire departments from being able to conduct their major benefits that are vital to sustaining operational costs.

Please support your local volunteer fire departments. The next call that they answer could be from you.