VIDEO: A fast-moving wildfire scorched over 250 acres in Bell County on Oct. 13, prompting a large-scale emergency response from agencies across Central Texas.
The Bell County Communications Center received a 911 call at 2:12 p.m. reporting heavy smoke near Salado. Fire crews from the Salado Fire District were first on scene and found a rapidly spreading wildfire burning through grass and brush.
โThis was a very fast-moving fire, burned mainly grass and some brushy fuels,โ Texas A&M Forest Service spokesperson Kiley Moran said.
Due to shifting winds and dry conditions, the fire quickly grew to 193 acres, and ultimately just over 250.
Officials activated the East Side Strike Team, which includes fire departments from Bartlett, Holland, Little River-Academy, Rogers, Belton, Temple, Troy and Moffat. The West Side Strike Team and the Texas A&M Forest Service also joined the firefighting efforts.
“We did see the tankers come in, and that’s what they were doing,” Corey Powell, a spokesperson for the Bell County Sheriff’s Office, said. “They were trying to protect this house over here, and so they’ve just laid down the retardant around it, so the house is not lost. They had no houses that they were overly concerned with, but obviously they’re watching all of them, and that’s why we brought everybody in.”
