SAN ANTONIO -- Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff visited Thursday the site of a Helotes compost fire that has been burning for more than a week and offered to help residents.

Wolff said hotel rooms could be offered to residents with respiratory problems.

County officials said at next week's Commissioner's Court meeting they hope to approve funds to pay for the assistance. Wolff said not even the hard rains could extinguish the large pile of burning brush.

Property owner Henry Zumwalt is using his own construction company's equipment to try to stop the fire within 40 to 45 days.

"We're reducing the pile, and we're also removing material that hasn't burned," construction representative Lennie Turpin said.

Wolff said Zumwalt's attempt to stop the fire is all that can be done at this point.

"I don't know what else to do at this point," Wolff said. "I think he's doing everything humanly possible to handle this situation."

Helotes Mayor Pro-Tempore Linda Boyer-Owens said her community might get quicker results if it was given $1 million to put out the flames out and to hire a private contractor.

"A lot of this is about money, and it's a question of who's going to pay and what the cost (will be)," Boyer-Owens said.