A Jasper County controlled burn got out of control Friday morning on FM 777 west of Jasper, destroying a travel trailer and threatening a nearby home and a large stack of used tires as a National Weather Service Red Flag Warning kept conditions ripe for fast-moving fire across Jasper and Newton counties through 7 p.m. Friday.
According to a release from the Beech Grove Volunteer Fire Department, firefighters were dispatched just before 11 a.m. to a brush fire burning toward the tire pile. The property owners were already trying to control the fire when crews arrived. The spread was stopped before reaching the tires, and the only structure lost was a travel trailer that was already being torn down, Fire Chief Jamie Gunter said.
The Red Flag Warning covers all of Jasper and Newton counties through 7 p.m. Friday. Red Flag Warnings are issued when conditions could lead to especially dangerous wildfire growth. Jasper County itself is not currently under a burn ban, but neighboring Newton, Sabine and San Augustine counties are. The Texas A&M Forest Service burn ban map and the National Weather Service alert page both update as conditions change.
Sources: KTRE | KJAS | NWS Red Flag Warning