Thursday morning fire crews in Denton County hustled to stop a grass fire along U.S. Highway 380 and Jackson Road from spreading to nearby structures.
The call came in around 10 a.m. for what the Texas A&M Forest Service is calling the 'Big Sky Fire.' Officials said Thursday afternoon that more than 70 acres had burned and was more than 75% contained.
Crews from the Ponder and Krum fire departments could be seen using brush trucks and hoses to put out flames that were fanned by winds.
The concern increased when the fire began to spread toward the Big Sky Estates neighborhood, which is filled with newly built homes.
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"My wife is calling me and saying, 'There's a wildfire right at the end of the street,' I said, 'Alright, I'm on my way home," said Eric Williams, who was outside with other neighbors watching fire crews fight the flames.
“I’ve been looking at smoke. I drove in from the highway. It's all the way down to the next street over here, this whole field was scorched there's nothing,” said Williams.
There was talk about possible evacuations, but crews were able to form a perimeter to protect the homes.
"I was a little nervous at first, but when I saw them out here actually cutting a line before the fire got too far, I felt a little better," said Williams. He and his wife, who are veterans, had all the essentials ready to go with their kids, just in case.
"I've been kind of watching for the last couple hours to see if it would cross the road," said Rebekah Sanchez, whose home backs up to the road separating the fire. "Staying close so I can get the dogs out if I needed to; everyone else is at work, so watching and seeing what needs to happen."
Fire crews were able to stop the spread and focused on hot spots.
"Luckily enough, the winds were keeping it from going to the south, southwest, so we were able to protect this very well," said Chief Brad Sebastian, the Denton County Fire Marshal.
He said they had asked for aerial help from the forest service, but by the time they got there, the ground crews were able to get it under control.
It's under investigation as to how the fire started, but he believes it was possibly near the highway.
"Typically we see this, cars going down the roadway dragging chains, throwing out cigarette butts, so its really important that people service their vehicles, check their tires don’t drag chains," said Sebastian who continues to be on alert considering the dry and hot weather. "When the winds pick up and the humidity drops that becomes the biggest challenge that fuels the fire.”
He said high grass in the Big Sky Trail area is what also caused the fire to spread quickly, but after a couple of hours, crews were able to get a handle on it.
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