Denton County Grass Fires Contained

Fire crews have been patrolling an area along Denton County's Lake Lewisville in North Texas where a stubborn 100-acre brush fire has drawn the attention of 13 fire departments.

Denton County authorities told NBC 5 the fire was completely contained by Monday morning.

The closest homes were about a half-mile away and no injuries were reported but firefighters had been digging trenches to keep the flames from spreading. The blaze that began Sunday was pushed by winds as high as 30 miles per hour.

No homes are threatened but 30-40 acres were burned.

The fire started around noon Sunday in the creek bottoms of Hickory Creek which feeds into Lewisville Lake. There is a lot of dry vegetation because of the drought which is feeding the fire.

Firefighters said they were at the “mercy of the terrain”, at one point, had to use a boat to transport firefighters and equipment to the right areas where fire had spread

“It’s been really rough. It took us over an hour to get access to the fire just because of the terrain,” said Jeremy Porter, Deputy Chief, Lake Cities Fire.

The land is owned and maintained by the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Neighbors say the land has been allowed to over grow with thick brush and dry grass.

“This is a tinderbox. If this is not some type of controlled fire, then if we get in some kind of serious drought, this whole area is going to go. We’re talking about Highland Village, just a quarter mile away,” said Tom Smith of Copper Canyon, who watched the fire from the top of his property for most of Sunday.

Firefighters from the cities of Denton, Lewisville, Coppell, Argyle, Little Elm, The Colony, Double Oak, Flower Mound, Highland Village, and others helped fight the fire.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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