SAN ANTONIO – Two years of drought and desperate for rain. South Central Texas has dealt with drought conditions for 730 days, dating back to September 2021.
On Thursday, a fire on the 25000 block of Dune Avenue in South Bexar County left five trailer homes damaged -- one of them was a complete loss.
Bexar County fire officials said only one of the homes that was damaged was occupied, but the family got out safely.
Fire officials said mobile homes can be more vulnerable than a standard house. They said that, because of the lighter construction, they’re more combustible and easier to collapse.
Tom Peine, Bexar County assistant public information officer, said the situation could have been worse due to current fire conditions.
“If you add any wind to this, and for example, you immediately can have, yes, a 3-quarter-acre fire, but all of the sudden, we’re looking at a hundred acres, and it’s not a far stretch. We’ve seen it,” said Peine.
Peine said between the dry vegetation and the need to rotate firefighters in the heat, many fire calls require a bigger response.
Fire officials are reminding the public of fire safety, such as keeping chains from dragging while driving and not throwing anything out of car windows.