Fire season concerns are growing

The wet weather we have seen lately has helped to cool temperatures a bit and kept things looking nice a green.

When things finally dry out, it will become perfect fuel for wildfires.

Driving down the road you can see that the grass is getting a bit tall and maintenance crews like the one in Copperas Cove, are having trouble keeping cut.

They are fighting the weather and working with only a four man crew, when they normally have eight.

This has slowed down what they can get done and the community has noticed and even begun to complain.

”In some areas you get on the edges and we could have grass that is six, seven, eight foot tall and people don’t like having that next to their house and I understand that," said John Field Sr., Superintendent if Streets And Drainage, City of Copperas Cove.

While maintenance crews are low on manpower and time to get things done, wild land fire fighters are getting prepared for what could be a bad wildfire season because all the growth is fuel for fires.

”When it does stop raining and it does start drying out, all those fuels are going to dry out and cure becoming very flammable and easily ignitable,” said Chief Matthew Perrine, Battalion Chief for Temple FD.

Chief Perrine who has even deployed to help fight fires in California, knows all to well that wild fires are whole different fight than a structure fire.

”If you go to a region if the state that you are not familiar with as much, there are a lot of things to consider and a lot of things to take in, like terrain and equipment.” said Chief Perrine.

The use of hand tools is a must in hard-to-reach areas that most states have a lot of, but Texas fire fighters have an edge other states do not.

Thankfully the terrain here in Texas allows for trucks to make it close to the fire and that makes the fight, much easier

While more fire fighters are being trained to fight wild land fires...there is still something that that community can do to help them and maintenance crews lower the risk that could be just weeks away.

”Keeping their areas maintained would help us out a great deal,” said John Field Sr., Superintendent if Streets And Drainage, City of Copperas Cove.

State, county and city maintenance crews are having trouble keeping up with all the brush growth so when it does dry out, it’s important for property owners to make sure that they get their portions if land cut to help prevent a possible massive wildfire.