An example of the potential threat came at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday as a fire in the engine compartment of a 1988 Mercury Grande Marquis started a grass fire along U.S. 190 in the westbound lane near the foot of Nolanville Hill.
Nolanville Fire Chief Mike Jones said he received a call about a car in the westbound lane on fire.
“When we arrived on the scene, the engine compartment was fully involved,” Jones said. “Apparently it started there. We were able to extinguish it and there were no injuries.”
The vehicle was a total loss, he said. The flames burned an area of about 1,600 square feet before firefighters extinguished them.
Jones said the Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KDBI) stood at 535 Wednesday. The index rates fire potential in vegetation. An index of 401-600 is high. It means ground cover is dry and will burn readily.
“The maximum is 635 so we are right in the warning part - we’re in the zone,” Jones said. “If we don’t get some rain soon we’ll be under a fire ban most of the winter.”
Sergio Espinoza of Nolanville was the driver and owner of the disabled car. He said he had one passenger, Donnell Glesper, also of Nolanville.
“What happened is the muffler had insulation over it and that’s what caught on fire,” Espinoza said. “My co-worker was behind me (in another car) and he pulled alongside and told me to pull over because my car was smoking.”
Espinoza said when he pulled onto the shoulder he tried to cut the insulation off of the muffler but couldn’t.
“I was almost home,” he said.
When contacted later, Bell County Fire Marshall Steve Casey said he is scheduled to meet with the Bell County Commissioners Court Monday to deliver a report on the drought index.
“I’ll give them the report and they will decide if we will have a burn ban,” Casey said.
“If the index gets to 600 we’ll start talking to the county commission about putting back the burn ban,” he said.
Casey said vegetation hasn’t been this brown in a while. He said after the first frost all the green will leave and it will become completely dry.
During 2005 and 2006 severe drought caused frequent grass fires in the county. Beginning in May flash floods through July hydrated vegetation and a burn ban was lifted.
The alarm came in at 2:30 p.m. It was officially tapped out at 3:20, Jones said. One pumper truck and an auxiliary truck were at the scene. Nolanville and Killeen police officers directed traffic past the burning vehicle.
hclark@temple-telegram.com
