The aftermath: Tye fire stopped, but what's the damage?
A quick-moving grassland fire started just before 2 p.m. Wednesday in the 400 block of County Road 646 just east of Farm to Market Road 707 North, according to a recent Tye Fire Department press release.
Several nearby homes were evacuated after the fire had burned for just over two hours.
While the fire was stopped by 5 p.m., two suffered minor injuries in the blaze, and several structures were damaged.
The cause of the fire was a burning barrel of trash that sparked fire in nearby grass.
A timeline of events
What started with an emergency call ended with over 20 acres of earth scorched.
The Taylor County Sheriff's Office received a call at approximately 1:49 p.m. Wednesday reporting a grass fire.
While en route to the fire, Tye firefighters received notification "that the fire had spread to a nearby residence and was advancing toward an area of dense wildland," according to the press release.
They subsequently called for assistance from multiple agencies, including the Merkel Fire Department, View Fire Department, Buffalo Gap Fire Department, Potosi Fire Department, Taylor County, Texas A&M Forest Service and the Abilene Fire Department.
As the blaze spread from 15 to 21 acres, it threatened multiple homes nearby.
Taylor County Sheriff's Office deputies began evacuating residents while crews worked to extinguish the flames.
By 4:44 p.m., however, the fire was 50 percent contained, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.
As of 5 p.m., the fire was completely under control, according to sheriff's Lt. Marty Hargis.
Firefighters remained on scene afterwards to monitor the area.
Started with trash?
The follow-up investigation found that "the fire was started by a barrel of rubbish being burned, which quickly spread to nearby grass," according to Justin Burgess, public information officer for the Tye Fire Department.
In total, the fire wreaked havoc and destroyed 21 acres, injuring two, including one civilian and one firefighter.
Six structures were also damaged, in addition to two tractors and one boat. One storage shed was destroyed.
"Our thoughts are with the affected residents, and we are committed to continuing our efforts to ensure the safety of our community," Tye Fire Department officials said late Wednesday evening.
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: The aftermath: Tye fire stopped, but what's the damage?
