The Tuesday fire started as an authorized outdoor burn before it got out of control, fanned by winds, officials say.
SAN ANTONIO — Bexar County’s top fire official says he’ll advocate for a countywide burn ban next week at Commissioners Court after a routine trash fire on someone property’s got out of control Tuesday afternoon, eventually scorching 262 acres.
The blaze, which began around 2:45 p.m. in the 1600 block of Silver Mountain Drive, resulted in 30 nearby homes being evacuated as local agencies responded. As of 2 p.m. Wednesday, the only thing destroyed was a barn on the property where the original fire was burning.
Bexar County Fire Marshal Chris Lopez’s warning was clear Wednesday: “Just don’t burn. It is too dry for you to be burning in the country.”
The fire, dubbed the Silver Mountain Fire by the Texas A&M Forest Service, was 95% contained as of Wednesday afternoon. Containment doesn’t mean the fire is extinguished, but that a perimeter has been set up so the flames don’t spread further.
That work was expected to continue Wednesday night, officials said.
Meanwhile, Lopez said the owner of the original property won’t be facing criminal charges because no neighboring properties were ultimately damaged. Instead, he was given a notice of violation after he didn’t have enough water.
“That amounts to a warning you might get from a traffic stop,” Lopez said, with the caveat that “you could really face some serious charges if something like this happens and you burn your neighbor’s property.”
>WATCH: Full update with Bexar County officials
Residents along Silver Mountain Drive who were forced to evacuate have since been able to return, according to Mark Montgomery, assistant fire chief for Bexar County ESD 2. Fire crews were continuing to monitor hot spots and take down smoldering trees.
Montgomery said the area’s sandy terrain provided a challenge for responders to overcome, along with the dry and windy conditions.
According to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor report, most of Bexar County remains under Extreme Drought – the second-highest drought classification – as of July 31. Those prolonged weather conditions are why Lopez says he plans to request a burn ban at Tuesday’s Commissioners Court meeting and is asking residents in unincorporated areas to hold off on burning trash or brush in the meantime.
“You can create piles and then, when we get the rain, then we’ll lift the burn ban and maybe you can burn safety,” he said.
The most recent burn ban was instituted in early February and lasted 90 days.
What are the current rules for outdoor burning?
Currently, outdoor burning is only allowed in unincorporated areas of Bexar County. Residents are forbidden from burning when winds are over 15 mph, and the fire marshal’s office requires that burning is completed an hour before sunset.
Authorities also say outdoor burning should be supervised at all times, with “the means to control and extinguish the burn.” Lopez said the preferred method of burning household trash is piling it into a metal drum with a metal grate over it, and keeping it covered during the burn.
“That’s really the only safe way we consider to do that,” he said.
The county doesn’t allow residents to burn construction waste, household garbage, tires, rubber or plastic, heavy oils, fiberglass, oil-based materials, or “any material that produces excessive amounts of smoke.” Find more guidelines here.