The sun hitting glass bottles ignited the Possum Kingdom Lake fire in freak accident
The recent wildfire in Palo Pinto County, dubbed the 1148 Fire by the Texas A&M Forest Service, was caused by an open trash container whose contents ignited, according to an open letter from Possum Kingdom West Volunteer Fire Department.
The fire destroyed five homes and burned 457 acres of land, according to the forest service.
According to the open letter, wind blew the lid off a trash container that held glass bottles, paper goods and food. Sunlight magnified by the glass bottles hit the other contents of the trash can and heated them until they reached “ignition temperature.”
The fire then quickly built and vented out the side and top of the trash can, causing nearby cedar trees to ignite.
The fire could have been prevented by placing a large rock or something else heavy on top of the trash can to keep the lid in place and by keeping glass bottles or other glass trash in a separate container, according to the letter. Other items in trash, including hot coals, oily rags, fireworks, tightly packed garden waste and hot ashes can also cause accidental fires.
The department warns that fire season isn’t over yet and anybody who sees fire or smoke or smells something burning should not assume that somebody else has already reported it to 911.
“The faster we arrive on scene the less chance the fire will turn into a disaster,” the department said in the letter.
The fire started July 18 near FM 1148 and was 100 percent contained on July 24.
“The rolling fire that raced down that hill was unstoppable,” the fire department wrote in another post. “Possum Kingdom West Volunteer Fire Department almost lost five good men trying to protect those homes. Two of them escaped to a dock to be rescued by a boat, one had to drive over burning asphalt and the other two were able to move their brush truck at the last second as the fire rolled passed.”
The department also called for new volunteers and asked that anybody able and willing consider donating to the volunteer fire department to help replace two worn-out brush fire trucks.
The Possum Kingdom West Volunteer Fire Department was joined in response to the 1148 Fire by volunteer departments from Possum Kingdom East, Graford, Newcastle, Eliasville, Breckenridge, Brazos, Palo Pinto, Mineral Wells, Santo, Lake Palo Pinto, Lone Camp, Young County and Stephens County.
The Texas A&M Forest Service also responded to the wildfire along with the Southern Area Blue Type-I Incident Management Team.
This story was originally published July 27, 2022 at 4:40 PM.