Thomas Metthe / Reporter-News - Tye fire chief Pete
Monroe, left, waits as a brush truck is refilled with water
during a brush fire on Tuesday, off Air Base Road near
Tye. Volunteer firefighters from Tye, View, Merkel, Hawley
and Caps worked to battle the roughly 100-acre fire.
Fire after Fire
Taylor County judge says volunteer firefighters deserve praise, donations
By Jerry Daniel Reed / Reporter-News Staff Writer
July 7, 2005
Volunteer firefighters kept busy the last 10 days battling grass fires in Taylor County deserve a show of public support, County Judge George Newman said Wednesday.
That support isn't limited to money, Newman said, but he noted that rural fire departments rely partly on donations to meet their budgets.
Newman estimates rural fire departments have fought eight to 10 blazes in the last 10 days.
''These men and women have worked tirelessly for the past 10 days fighting one fire after another,'' Newman said. ''Their resources are depleted, and they are physically spent.''
As volunteers, the firefighters had to take time away from their jobs, and some had to get by with as little as two hours of sleep at times, he said.
The combination of extra-dry weather and the fireworks season associated with the Fourth of July were major causes of the spate of fires, Newman said.
''We didn't have any rain in April, and we didn't have any rain in June,'' he said. ''And those are two of our wettest months.''
April's moisture total was a scant .01 inch, compared to 1.67 normally. In June, the .72 inch measurement was less than a quarter of the 3.06 historical average.
So far, this summer has been much worse for fires than last summer.
Last month county commissioners issued a fireworks ban on county roads and county rights of way. Also last month, commissioners issued a general ban on outdoor fires in rural Taylor County.
To help
Donations may be made through the Taylor County Rural Fire Committee, c/o Gary Young, 6218 FM 89, Tuscola, TX, 79562.
Young is chief of the Elm Creek Citizens Association Volunteer Fire Department. Twelve rural fire departments are members of the committee.
Web Designer's Note:
To make a donation to departments outside of Taylor County, please contact that department directly or contact the BCFFA through this website.
