(The following story by Mike Baird appeared on the Caller-Times website on February 28.)
CORPUS CRISTI, Texas — Firefighters were plagued Wednesday by another day of grass fires spread by dry conditions, including one set off by sparks from a train.
The train sent off sparks that ignited brush about 1 a.m. Wednesday along the Union Pacific track near Buddy Lawrence Drive and Poth Lane, fire officials said.
The fire didn’t endanger any structures although the dozen firefighters who responded had trouble getting to the blaze, said Battalion Chief Jeff Willis with Corpus Christi Fire Department.
“It’s not like a normal fire you can just drive up to and go to work,” he said. “There were serious access issues.”
Dispatchers contacted Union Pacific to halt train use until the fire was contained about 4:15 a.m. No trains were scheduled to use those tracks at the time, Willis added.
By about noon, more than 20 firefighters were called to battle another brush fire — this time near the Joe Fulton International Trade Corridor.
The cause of that fire, which burned between 30 and 40 acres vfrom the corridor to the Nueces River and produced a cloud of black smoke, is under investigation.
John Valls, Port of Corpus Christi’s director of marketing, said the fire might have been started by a lawnmower crews were using to clear the land, which is vacant port property.
It took about two hours for four Corpus Christi fire units and three from the Annaville Volunteer Fire Department to contain the blaze. The fire was contained about 1:10 p.m.
Officials from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality also were on scene monitoring the situation, said Susan Clewis, the agency’s regional director.