Florence Fire

Feel free to view photos here and read the article I wrote for my newspaper below.

Shawn Rizzo
Main Street News

The fire that began at approximately 1:30pm on Thursday, August 7 is said to be the largest wild land fire in Williamson County history.

Covering nearly 1,600 acres, the fire fueled by extremely dry conditions, high humidity and winds, has kept fire fighters on the scene for 168 hours and counting.

As of 6pm on August 13th, the Florence VFD reported the fire 95% contained. Hot spots that continue to flare up have made it difficult to contain the situation 100%. On August 13th alone, four hot spots were found.

The Florence VFD was initially called out for a smoke investigation on Thursday the 7th.

“When we were driving by the Florence Country Store, and saw what was actually happening, we realized that this was much more,” said Lt. Alan Blankenship.

Approximately 60-75 homes on CR 233, CR 240, and the Pecan Branch area were immediately evacuated. Over the course of the day, eight helicopters, four small aircraft, and a large C-130 swooped over the fire with water and fire retardant. On the ground, Florence VFD was joined by more than twenty other fire departments and various law enforcement and emergency agencies.

Since last Thursday, the Florence Fire Station has been filled with support staff (mothers, wives and children of firemen) who are working tirelessly to keep the firemen fed and hydrated.

“When I found out how big the fire was, I asked my boss if I could take off. Jennifer and I went to the store and bought food to make sandwiches for the guys,” said Sharon Montgomery.

The support staff at the Florence VFD say they have been doing whatever the guys need them to do; short of actually fighting the fire.

“We immediately took water to the scene. That’s one of the first things we think about; keeping them hydrated,” said Sharon Montgomery.

The wives and children of Florence VFD have spent their days and nights answering phones, preparing and serving meals on the scene, making trips back and forth for more supplies and food. Jennifer Montgomery spent endless minutes on her cell phone dialing local restaurants for food donations for the firemen. The Florence VFD support staff not only feeds their own, but all of the local fire departments and emergency agencies who are at the scene.

The Florence community, and all neighboring communities, have shown a tremendous amount of support through this tragedy. Local individuals are coming to the station with food, drink, and monetary donations. Businesses from around the area are doing the same. Citizens are asking what they can do to help on or behind the scenes.

“The out pour of support from the Florence community has been amazing. Not to mention all of the support from surrounding towns. We have never seen anything like this,” said Jennifer Montgomery. “And Mary Condon, the Mayor of Florence has been wonderful. She makes the rounds and calls me every day to see what the City of Florence can do for us.”

Many anonymous donations have been made as well. On one trip to the grocery store, Jennifer Montgomery says a man in a red truck overheard her talking to the clerk about the fire, and generously donated a truckload of water and gatorade.

Back at the scene of the fire, the firemen have dealt with very harsh terrain.

“We’ve lost about 100 tires over the course of this fire. That includes Florence trucks as well as everyone else involved at the scene,” said Alan Blankenship.

Florence fire trucks have refilled with water from the City as well as Chisholm. Fire trucks from other towns come with their own first load of water, but occasionally had to refill in Florence.

Fortunately, there have been no injuries and no homes lost in the fire. Two small well house structures burned; one on DPS property and the other near the 4T Ranch area.

The fire, which started in the vicinity of 4T Ranch, has been investigated by Texas Forest Service.

“As of Wednesday afternoon, August 13th, the cause has been declared undetermined,” said Donna Wilson of Texas Forest Service. “There is some speculation of power lines, but they cannot determine anything for sure.”

Crews were still mopping up hot spots with water on Wednesday, August 13th.

“We don’t want any more flare-ups. The fire covered a very large area and there are spotters going over it with a fine tooth comb,” said Donna Wilson.
Officials are still working on an accurate cost estimate statement to find out what it cost to put
the fire out.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) authorized the use of federal funds to help fight the fire following a request from the State of Texas. The authorization makes FEMA funding available to pay 75 percent of state, local and tribal government eligible fire fighting costs under an approved grant for managing, mitigating and controlling designated fires.

In addition, a special account has been set up at Union State Bank to accept donations for all the fire departments that have assisted in responding to the Florence fire. The tax deductible donations will be divided among the responding agencies to cover a variety of expenses including tire and vehicle repair, fuel, and hoses.

Union State Bank has branches in Florence , Georgetown , Harker Heights , Killeen , Liberty Hill, and Round Rock. To contribute, donations can be sent to Union State Bank, Florence Fire account #17001994, P.O. Box 600, Florence, TX 76527. For more information, call (254)793-3140, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays.

“We just can’t thank everyone enough for their support. We thank everyone who donated time and supplies. A special thanks goes to all of the Florence VFD support staff that contributed many long hours to take care of the firefighters,” said Alan Blankenship.