NEWS
Fruitland fire burns 230 acres; no inhabited homes destroyed, 10 structures burned
By BARBARA GREEN
[email protected]
It was a brutal afternoon of firefighting last Friday as a fire that began near State Highway 101 and Fruitland Road swept across 230 acres threatening homes and burning many other structures.
Bowie and Sunset firefighters were called out to a fire reported in the 2500 block of Fruitland Road near the intersection of Fruitland and Hwy. 101 shortly before 2:30 p.m. Sheriff Marshall Thomas said it was his understanding the fire may have started where a welder was working on a front entry of a property in this area.
The sheriff and Chief Deputy Jack Lawson responded to the call for assistance and asked for other law enforcement to send officers if they were available. The sheriff’s deputies were attending a training on this afternoon and were out of pocket.
Thomas said Bowie Police and Department of Public Safety provided officers, the constables and game warden also helped.
Shortly before 3 p.m. officers began contacting area residents and encouraging them to evacuate. The specific directive came for all residents on Fruitland between Smyrna and Farm-to-Market Road 3043 (Brushy).
As the fire moved toward Brushy winds from the west and southwest were blowing toward the northeast leading to an evacuation notice to those on Orchard and Cole, which was closed at one point.
Read the full story in the mid-week Bowie News.
The Arctic air is here! Wind chills will plummet tonight, dipping into the single digits to lower teens for all of North and Central Texas. Make sure to check on neighbors & family, dress in warm layers, bring pets indoors and protect outdoor/exposed pipes.
Montague County will be under a COLD WEATHER ADVISORY from midnight tonight until 9:00 a.m. Sunday. Please take precautions.
Hear Audio Alert:https://hrpow.us/YEWQwEP
Monday a team from Brazos Electric arrived from Tolar, TX hauling with it a 22 Mva portable transformer and related unit that will provide power for the city’s substation while the new 20 Mva transformer is connected to the Bowie grid as well as the present pair of 12.5 Mva units.
Thanks to the soggy ground it was an up and down start as they got stuck, but they were finally able to get the trailer leveled. Nearby another trailer holds the series of connectors that will join that unit to the city’s transmission lines.
On Monday afternoon there were multiple brief power outages due to some issues with switches said City Manager Bert Cunningham, but it was all resolved by late afternoon.
Unfortunately the outages caused major problems for Comcell internet service which went off around 4 p.m. and did not resume until after 9 p.m.
The Saint Jo City Council last week accepted a request from its only full-time police patrol officer to leave active duty to be a reserve and named a new council member to fill a vacancy.
Councilors met on Jan. 8 to start the new year. Earlier in December longtime council member Carla Hennessey submitted her resignation after serving seven years. Michael Dennis was named to fill the position until the term ends in October when it will be on the ballot.
Dennis has served on the Saint Jo school board, as well a previous unexpired term on the council several years ago.
The city lost its full-time patrol officer as she asked to go to being a reserve. The Saint Jo Fire Department also got approval to buy a new pumper truck.
Read the full story in the Thursday Bowie New.
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